Revenge in Moonlight
by Kitsune no Rai
Summary: When a handful of Hyuuga branch members get their hands on a way to negate the curse seal, an internal conflict generations old arises with Hinata and Hanabi standing in the middle. What secrets does the Hyuuga hold and can the clan survive them?
1. Sins

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

This my second crack at the Naruto genre. Here it goes.

* * *

Chapter 1: Sins

The moon was full in Konohagakure. There were few lights still on in the many houses in Konoha, but outside, the village was desolate. The lights gradually began to dim as the moon seemed to show its full power to Konoha that night. It was quiet, devoid of anything except the crickets' chirping and the occasional howl of the dogs at the Inuzuka's. The dogs mainly howled at the two laughing men that, judging from the slurred speech and uninhibited laughter of one of them, apparently just came from drinking. Upon closer inspection, they were shown by their white eyes to be Hyuuga members. Their loudness was a stark contrast to the typical cool, calm persona that the clan emitted.

"Weeeeeelllllllllllll, that was an intefrestin' story the bartender told. Right, Hiroyuki!" one of them yelled loudly still in a drunken stupor, leaning on the man beside him as if his life depended on it. In the very least whether he stayed on his feet or not did depend on it. The man he was leaning on, Hyuuga Hiroyuki, was a tall man who easiliy towered over the man next to him. He appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He had mid-length brown hair that ran down his upper back freely. He was wearing a white shirt with gray pants. His forehead protector settled on top of his head. Perhaps more importantly was that he was nowhere near as drunk as the other man he was with.

"Whatever, Hachio," he muttered with a gruff voice. "You should have gotten so drunk; you're getting annoying," he continued suddenly feeling the weight of his companion off of him. He looked over and watched as Hachio ran into the bushes and vomited with a loud noise. He groaned as he stood upright holding his stomach.

"Idiot," Hiroyuki mumbled as he continued walking past his drunken friend.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit," Hachio slurred once again as he ran after him. He lost his balance a couple of times resulting in him hitting the ground with a thud. Froaning, he picked himself up and walked after him, his arms swaying from side to side as if they had the life sucked out of them.

Hyuuga Hachio, the drunken man, was nineteen going on twenty. He had short spiky brown hair that hid a plain yellow Konoha headband. He was wearing a yellow button up shirt and black pants with a yellow stripe on each side. His forehead protector was on his left arm. Hachio started to run again now, hoping he wouldn't fall over again from all the drinks he had. He had just finished his first A-rank mission a couple of weeks ago after his long-awaited promotion to becoming a jounin. He figured that every since the attack by the Sand and Sound village two years ago, Konoha is short on ninja to do missions. He thought that because of that, it led to a higher promotion rate. Scratching his head at the sudden thought that was made difficult with the amount of alcohol he comsumed, he looked up as if he was in a daze and noticed that Hiroyuki had stopped moving only a few feet away from him.

'He decided to wait for me? That's unlike him. I wonder what's going on?' he thought. Most of the time he did something like this, Hiroyuki was slow to help him out. He couldn't stand stupid, and Hachio definitely did a lot of stupid things. He tried to regain his composure as he walked toward his friend. When he finally caught up, his first action was to look over his friend's shoulder. What he saw was what appeared to be a man whose face was illuminated by the full moon. Hachio activated his Byakugan to get a better look at the man. He seemed to be in his late-thirties, appearing to be around six feet tall with black hair that went to the middle of jawline. His brown eyes were overshadowed by the glasses he wore. The man was wearing a red short sleeved shirt with black pants. His arms were covered in bandages that was fresh, judging from the lack of bloodstains. Hachio noticed that he wasn't wearing a forehead protector. The man smirked lightly as he made direct eye contact with Hachio.

"What do you want?" Hiroyuki asked in a firm tone that caused Hachio to turn his attention away from the strange man that stood in front of them. Hiroyuki stared at the man as he didn't answer. The man closed his eyes and smirked before he looked at the two Hyuuga again. Hiroyuki arched a frustrated right eyebrow. "I'll repeat myself one more time. What do you want?"

"I know what I want, but what do you want?" he answered cryptically. The two Hyuuga looked at him for a moment.

"What are you getting at?" Hachio asked walking a couple of steps ahead of Hiroyuki. If there was one thing that annoyed Hachio, it was cryptics. He wanted his answer straight and to the point. None of that old ninja jargon was worth his time or attention in any way.

"What am I getting at?" he repeated the question. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Ikeda Katsu," he followed his words with a bow. "I am a..." He paused, trying to find the right words. "A scientist and a medic-nin who loves to view different curse seals. I really am fascinated by the Hyuuga seal in particular. With a few hand signs, you two could drop dead in a matter of moments," he continued shrugging his shoulders.

Hachio activated his Byakugan again and charged at Katsu. The medic-nin could feel the air around him get slightly heavier as the drunken man came charging at him.

"Hachio, wait!" Hiroyuki tried to say to his teammate. It was too late though. Hachio was clouded by anger, and his drunken state only fueled his desire of this man's death. He extended his right palm and aimed for his right lung ready to destroy it, ready to see the man writhing on the ground as his life is slowly etched from his being. The man's eyes widened as he saw Hichiro's fingers struck his body. The moonlight illuminated the two bodies as Katsu began coughing up blood involuntarily. He grabbed Hachio by the arm and squeezed lightly.

"Die!" Hachiro yelled as he pulled his left hand back for the finishing blow. As he made contact with the almost lifeless body, he watched as the body disappeared into smoke.

"A Shadow Clone!" he yelled surprised.

"Of course," Katsu answered leaning on one of the houses in the neighborhood they were in. "I must say though, the Hyuuga are impressive indeed. I assume by the rage you harbored against me when you attacked that you are a branch member?"

"Why you-" Hachio started.

"Yes, we are branch members," Hiroyuki spoke up cutting Hachio off. "What of it?"

"You see, I have been tinkering on a jutsu that actually can reverse the effects of the curse seal of the Caged Bird in the Hyuuga."

"What? How dare you get into Hyuuga affairs!" Hachio yelled Byakugan still activated.

"Don't be a fool," Katsu said calmly.

"Think about it for a moment. How long have you felt useless against the main members knowing you couldn't go against them? Let me guess. You felt weak; really weak. You want a chance to get back at them, right?" Hiroyuki and Hachio stood there wordlessly. Hachio looked at the ground for a moment. His drunkenness no longer seemed to affect him. "That's what I thought."

"What do you want with us?" Hiroyuki asked in a much more subdued manner.

"All I want is to help you get rid of the cursed seal," Katsu explained. "Do you agree to help?"

The three stood there wordlessly. There was a light wind the blew east as the moon still hung high in the sky.

"What must we do?" Hiroyuki asked finally breaking the silence.

"Tell us and consider it done," Hachio said remembering the last time he crossed Hiashi's path. He grabbed his forehead as he remembered the pain forming throughout his body. He shook his head to clear his mind. He wasn't entirely sure if he agreed with it because of the booze, because Hiroyuki agreed with him, or because he really wanted to get back at the main branch members. Whatever the reason was, he wanted it for the moment at hand.

"That's what I like to hear," Katsu replied approaching them. "Meet me here tomorrow at the same spot around the same time and bring me a cadet branch Hyuuga alive. I can't stress the 'alive' part enough. Understood?" No sooner had Katsu said that had Hiroyuki appeared behind him, kunai in his left hand.

"Don't order us like we are your slaves. We'll get you the body," Hiroyuki resonded. He refused to be another person's pet. He backed off and walked back over to Hachio.

"Good. I look forward to working with you. Pray tell what are your names?" Katsu asked.

"Hyuuga Hiroyuki."

"Hyuuga Hachio."

"Good," Katsu muttered before he formed the tiger hand sign and left the scene.

"He's telling the truth," Hiroyuki said as he turned to walk back to the compound.

"I suppose so," Hachio agreed.

'He's hiding something though,' Hiroyuki thought to himself. 'I just can't pinpoint it. At the very least, I'll have my shot at getting revenge on that man, Hyuuga Hazuki.'

* * *

Hachio looked up at the night sky the next night. He turned to see Hiroyuki staring at the branch member that stood in front of them. He was in his late teens. A thin looking kid who by now was ghostly white in fear, he had brown hair that went to his neck with his forehead protector under a few bangs on his forehead. He was wearing a white shirt that had a little dirt on it and black pants. He was tied up and gaged as he stared wildly at his captors.

"Don't worry, it will pay off soon in the end," Hiroyuki told the boy crouching down to his level in a futile effort to comfort him. He mumbled something under the gag that went unheard by the two revenge-hungry men. They turned to the sky when they heard a puff of smoke. They looked on top of one of the roofs to see Katsu squatting on the edge of the house, arms hanging over the building.

"Is that the man?" Katsu asked as he jumped from his previous spot to join the men on the ground below him.

"Yeah," Hachio answered lifting the teen by the collar with his right hand. Katsu walked over to the boy. He examined his face closely and smirked. Fear began to riddle the boy's demeanor. Just when his body apparently couldn't get more white, it did. A little wet spot even appeared on his pants. He began shaking slightly at the sight of the man in front of him. He was unsure. Unsure of the fate that awaited him. Katsu removed the forehead protector from the teens head to reveal the Caged Bird seal that rested on his forehead. The teen bowed his head in defeat and helplessness trying to come to terms with his own life and what little he assumed, remained of it.

"He'll do nicely," Katsu determined finally, taking the teen away from Hachio's grip. Katsu sighed at the increasingly wet spot on the boy's pants, but maintained his focus on the two men in front of him. He hoisted the teen on his back by the rope and sighed once more before looking up at the sky. It was cloudier than it was the day before. The medic-nin scratched his black hair roughly then turned to the two men. Meet me back here in seven days. "Gather as many cadet branch member Hyuuga as you want and bring them here at this exact spot. I only want to have to do this once," Katsu said.

"What did I say about ordering me around?" Hiroyuki asked as Katsu turned to leave.

"Don't bring them then. It will just be you two alone, and shortly after, it will be you two that will die and the whole plan will go up in smoke," Katsu spoke as if he could see the future. "Don't be so prideful to the point you can't see the big picture," he advised as he turned to leave.

"I'll see you in seven days," Katsu continued. Hirokyuki opened his mouth to respond, but Ikeda Katsu had already left.

Hiroyuki clutched his fist as a bit of sweat hit the ground in front of him.

Hachio patted his shoulder. "We're in it now. Let's do what we have to do."

Hiroyuki felt his grip tighten with his words. He wasn't happy about being ordered around either.

"Fine."

* * *

"You better not be lying to be Hachio!" a female Hyuuga yelled. It had been seven days since Hachio and Hiroyuki had seen Katsu. They decided to heed his advice and quietly amassed five other cadet branch members to their side. They were very quiet with their words usually only mentioning the plan after they left the Hyuuga household or if they were talking one on one away from other's ears. Very few believed. A good portion of the few that did believe were too scared to see if they were telling the truth. The grip Hiashi had over them was too strong. However, there were a few that let the seeds of hate seep through them enough to continue onwards. These are the seven that stand here in the neighborhood as a group in Konoha. One thing was for sure though, no one mentioned it to any member of the main branch household. That would mean certain death. Where they were going, they could never turn back.

"I'm not lying Fujiko," Hachio said trying to defend himself. He looked at Fujiko in the eyes to see no sign of wavering. Fujiko was a childhood friend of Hachio. She had long brown hair that went to the small of her back. She was wearing a pink shirt that had one long sleeve on the left side and tight black shorts. She wore her forehead protector on her bare right arm.

"You better not be. If you are, that's all our heads!" she yelled forcefully. "I am not about to die yet!"

"Calm down, Fujiko," another male Hyuuga said. Fujiko backed off and sat down by the base of a building to the left of her.

"I wonder why Neji didn't want to participate in this. I thought he would jump at the chance to do this," Fujiko continued, changing the subject.

"Who knows?" Hachio responded. He turned to Hiroyuki. "Hiroyuki, where is he?" he asked calmly.

"I don't know."

"Where I am. I'm walking towards you now," a voice in the distance answered. The seven avengers stood up abruptly and formed a sloppy line as Katsu came closer towards them. He appeared the same way as before. However a key difference was the new bandages covering his left eye. He seemed confident as he walked toward his comrades with a smirk.

"I see this is the group, huh? You mind introducing yourselves?" Katsu asked scanning the seven Hyuuga.

"You already know me. I am Hyuuga Hiroyuki," he said stepping forward.

"You know me as well. I am Hyuuga Hachio."

"I am Hyuuga Fujiko," she answered with a hint of impatience.

"I am Hyuuga Hotaru," she mimiced stepping forward. She about 5'6" and was wearing a black t-shirt and pink pants. Her waist length brown hair moved as another breeze passed through Konoha. Her forehead protector rested on her forehead. She appeared to be the exact opposite of Fujiko. Pleasant.

"I am Hyuuga Fumio," he said stepping forward. He was a little under six feet and had short dark brown hair that hid his forehead protector. He was wearing a white shirt with a leaf in the center and black pants.

"I am Hyuuga Harumi," she repeated following her other comrades. Harumi was around 5'7". Her short brown hair covered the brown headband that hid the seal. She was wearing a purple top with yellow pants that stopped at her ankles. Her forehead protector was around her neck.

"I am Hyuuga Hajime," the last one finally introuduced himself. He was around 6'1". His hair was in a ponytail that went to about his neck. His eyes seemed colder than all the others. He was wearing a black shirt under a long red overcoat and red pants. He stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Okay, that appears to be everyone. Now, here is the deal. Firstly, it would be rude to not introduce myself to the newcomers. My name is Ikeda Katsu. I assume that these two have already told you everything," he said pointing to Hiroyuki and Hachio. They group nodded. "Good. Well, let's get started."

"Wait!" Hiroyuki yelled loudly.

"What is it, my friend?" Katsu asked.

"Where is the boy?"

"Oh, him. He's resting at my house. I have already healed him. He should be back in a couple of days. He's rather sick," Katsu explained closing his eyes as if in deep thought.

'I can't tell if he's telling a lie. I can't read anything he's doing that suggests he's lying,' Hiroyuki thought trying to use his Byakugan to give him insight on his true intentions. "What's with the bandages on the eye?"

Katsu rubbed his hand over the fresh bandages. "While working on the experiment, I got a little bit of poison in my eye. Needless to say, it stung. Either way, I should be fine in a few days."

Hiroyuki shifted his jaw to the side and narrowed his eyes. "Fine," he said settling for his explanation for the moment.

"Now if there are no further questions, let's begin. Remove the things that hide the curse seal," he began pulling out a kunai. All seven of the Hyuuga complied then stood on their toes ready to strike in case he tries something crazy. They watched as he began inscribing a character each of his palms. Katsu's visible eye closed occasionally in pain as he finished his drawing with a few grunts along the way. He breathed deeply and stared at the sky.

"The moon is dead," he mumbled as the clouds covered the moon.

"What?" Fumio asked questioningly.

"Nothing. Are we ready to begin?" Katsu asked. They nodded. "Good." He began to do hand seals quickly.

'So fast,' Hotaru thought as she watched his hands go from one to the next as blood began to ooze from his fast motions.

"Okay! There it goes! Hotaru-san, Fumio-san, you're first!" he yelled as he charged toward them. Before they could react, he was standing in front of them. He placed the palms of his hands on their heads covering the curse seal. The two screamed as they stuttered backwards. The group noticed that Katsu's hands seemed to be sizzling as he made contact with their foreheads. He turned toward Harumi and Hajime. "Your turn," he said doing the same thing. They seemed to be able to take it better than Hotaru or Fumio. They stepped back when he finished. He walked over and did the same thing to Fujiko and Hachio. Fujiko fell over from the seal being bound. She picked herself off the ground and stood by Hachio. They turned as Katsu approached Hiroyuki. He was sweating now as he felt Katsu's cold hands touch his forehead. After a few seconds, he stepped back and felt the seal.

"Nothing feels different," Hiroyuki noted, voice cracked slightly.

"It is still on your forehead," Katsu replied breathing hard.

"What is?" Hachio asked.

"The seal's appearance is still there, but the effect is now null and void," Katsu explained. "When Hiashi-sama uses the technique, fake like it works when it's convenient for you," he continued still breathing hard. They nodded. "Good. I'm leaving. I will send the boy with a message for you. Do as you will. If you need me I will be here every Wednesday once a week at this neighborhood," he continued.

"Fine," Hiroyuki agreed. He watched as Katsu left the scene. The rebel leader turned to Hachio and Fujiko. "So what now?" he asked.

"I know," Hajime began.

"What?" Hotaru asked walking toward the group.

"We send them a little message."

* * *

It was nearly mid-day at the Hyuuga compound. The grass was waving in the training ground. The small pond in the back of the training ground seemed to stand still as the sun beamed down on the Hyuuga compound. The seven avengers watched as ten year old Hyuuga Hanabi trained in her Gentle Fist style by herself. She was covered in black from head to toe causing her to sweat even more under the great heat. It was one of the rare times she wasn't in the watchful eye of her father. She made occasional grunts as she struck the air with her palms. The heiress stepped forward and attempted to strike with two fingers then spun around to strike with four. She then jumped back and fired a kick in the air. Regaining her composure, Hanabi rested as she sat down on the ground breathing heavily.

"I hope that's enough to please Father," Hanabi said as she sat down on a log that had a towel on the top. She picked up the towel and covered her face in it. The brunette thought about how much she hoped her father would applaud her. Her eyes suddenly darted to the left quickly still covered by the towel. 'Malicious intent,' she thought. She clutched her fist and activated her Byakugan as she rushed toward the one standing in the open. Fujiko smirked as she watched Hanabi charge at her. Fujiko assumed that Hanabi wouldn't know her. She probably knows very few branch members.

Hanabi extended her right palm and aimed for a vital organ in Fujiko's torso. She made contact with a Shadow Clone that dissipated at her touch. Hanabi turned around quickly to catch a kick that was aimed at her torso. The heiress braced herself on the ground and aimed for two chakra points on Fujiko's leg. Fujiko quickly jumped back and activated her Byakugan. She watched as Hanabi charged toward her. She leapt in the air to get a better few of a weak point. She watched as Fujiko disappeared quickly and appeared in front of Hanabi in the air. She hit several chakra points on her arms, legs, and torso, then slashed at her shoulder with a kunai that she quickly drew from her pouch around her waist. Hanabi fell to the ground with a scream. She rolled on the ground a few feet leaving a bloody trail before her body came to a stop. She did a quiet moan before she fell unconscious. Hajime appeared beside Hanabi's unconscious form in a puff of smoke and grabbed a kunai attached to a scroll that was written hours before.

"You waited until she was pretty much out of energy before you attacked?" Hajime asked as we spun the kunai on his left index finger. It was obvious he really didn't care.

"Yeah. I didn't want to use anything fancy," Fujiko replied. "Have the hotel reservations been made?"

"Yes. We will be heading there in a couple of days." Hajime stuck the kunai into Hanabi's back causing her body to twitch sickeningly.

"Is she alive?" Fujiko asked.

"Yes. In a few hours though, she might not be so lucky," Hajime observed. He picked her up and noticed a little blood coming from her mouth. He activated his Byakugan and tapped her forehead. "Let's get out of here," he said tossing her form on the ground. Hanabi rolled a few feet causing the kunai to be further embedded into her body. "It'll only be a matter of time before they realize that the guards are almost dead, and Hanabi is unconscious.

* * *

"Hiashi-sama, Hanabi-sama is unconscious on the training ground!" Neji yelled entering Hiashi's quarters without his consent. Hiashi stood there for a minute wordlessly.

"Who did it?" he asked with malice in his voice that sent a chill down Neji's spine. He kept himself composed.

"We don't know," he muttered finally.

Hiashi activated his Byakugan and ran past Neji without a word. "Follow," he ordered. Neji followed close behind him.

* * *

They arrived to see various members of the main branch surround Hanabi's bleeding form. Some had bandages in their hands; some were trying their best to give first aid to Hanabi.

"Move," Hiashi said. The family parted into two separate sides on either side of him as he walked down the middle. Neji stopped moving and stood in line on the right side of the two lines. He picked up his daughter and noted that she was still alive as her chest moved up and down slowly.

"Hiashi-sama, there was a note embedded in her back," another main branch member said.

"Let me see it," he commanded. He took the note and read it over clutching Hanabi closer to him.

__

The main house's villainy will soon cease.

The main house's villainy will soon cease.

This is the first step.

Next time you won't be so fortunate.

Your daughter's will fall

And you will grieve

Then you'll be erased for eternity.

Enjoy your last days

They are coming soon

Then we will strike

Oh, the things we have in store for you

-Death to You by Moonlight

Hiashi clutched the scroll in his hands. He stared at her daughter's form with fatherly worry. Hiashi activated his Byakugan and scanned her daughter's still form. He sighed at the sight of several closed tenketsu before turning to his nephew.

"Neji, go get a Hyuuga by the name of Hyuuga Hiroku."

"Him?" Neji asked arching an eyebrow.

"You don't mean the half-breed, do you?" another head branch member spoke up. Mumbles of disprovement littered the training ground.

"Silence!" Hiashi screamed silencing them all.

"Neji, you heard my orders. The only Hyuuga with medic-nin status. Go and explain the situation and bring him here," he said as he lifted his daughter in his arms and carried him away from the training ground.

He disappeared and rushed as quickly as he could. There was no time to waste.

* * *

A/N: Well, that's the end of the first chapter. I seriously was not planning on doing this fic at first, but I decided to go ahead as the idea was interesting. There were originally nine OC's, but I cut it down to seven. It's very hard for all the names to be consistent with Hyuuga tradition so I cut it down some. Anyway, for all those Hinata fans, she appears next chapter. For all those wondering if Hanabi will live or not, she will live. I have plans for her. Originally, it was supposed to be Hinata that gets the treatment, but instead I settled for Hanabi. Hinata will get her fair share of fights though. Well, next chapter will hopefully be longer than the last. Expect action scenes to take place soon by the bucket loads. Please let me know what you think. Your opinions matter. Until next time.


	2. Results of Time Spent

Here are the review responses.

Rizo: I'll try.

Elli Cole: Thanks a lot. I'll try to keep it interesting.

Jenny Nara: I'm glad you love it.

noname: It's finally out.

To all those who read this, I apologize for taking so long to get this chapter out.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 2: Results of Time Spent

Neji raced through Konoha by the rooftops, activating his Byakugan and scouting for the nearby hospital. He began picking up the pace to reach his destination. He jumped down as he reached the hospital and calmly walked in. It was quiet in the front lobby. Looking around, he noticed that no one was hardly in there. There were some chairs set on either side and the reception counter in the middle. On both sides, there were long hallways that led to other rooms. Neji casually walked up to the front desk. It made more sense to simply ask where Hiroku was instead using his Byakugan and have the attendant wondering what he was doing. The woman there was wearing a nurse's outfit reading a magazine, twirling her long dark brown hair around her finger.

"Excuse me," Neji began. The woman looked up.

"Yes."

"Do you know where I might find a specific worker here?"

"Who are you looking for?" she asked, pulling out a log of those who checked in today.

"Hyuuga Hiroku," he stated.

"Hyuuga, Hyuuga, Hyuuga," she repeated. "Ah yes! He's upstairs prepping for a surgery tomorrow. He's in room 214. That's two floors up."

"Thank you," Neji replied as he walked through the hallways. He made a left turn and opened a door that led to a series of stairs. The Hyuuga ran as he reached the stairs and climbed to the third floor where all the rooms 200-299 ranged. The Hyuuga walked past a couple of nurses as he reached the designated room. They were whispering something to each other, but Neji paid it no mind as he opened the door.

"...and that's how the surgery will work," the Hyuuga finished sitting in a chair in front of a young man in a hospital gown. He scribbled something down on a clipboard then turned around to look Neji in the eyes.

"Neji! What are you doing here? You're not sick," Hiroku began, standing up. He was around Neji's age, having dark indigo hair that went down to a little above his neck and the Hyuuga eyes. He was wearing a white no-sleeved shirt and dark red pants with a purple sash over his pants. There was a strange seal on his right arm similar to the cage bird seal. It was slightly different. Instead of one line on either side leading up to the swastika, in had three lines with each line be 45 degrees apart. His forehead protector cloth was white and was around his neck.

"Obviously," Neji retorted.

"Then why are you here?"

"Hyuuga business," Neji replied.

"Oh. That can wait a moment," Hiroku responded turning his attention back to his patient.

"Any questions, Randou-san?" Hiroku asked.

"How long will it take to remove the tumor?"

"Depending on the surgeons, four to ten hours," he answered. "You will be sedated. You won't feel any pain until it's all said and done."

"That's a relief." He gave a grin as he stood up from the bed he was laying on. "You'll be in the surgery, right?"

"I'm supposed to be," Hiroku said. "In a couple of weeks, you should be back to doing missions."

"Thank you."

"You can put your clothes back on, and I'll see you tomorrow morning," Hiroku finished standing up to shake his patient's hand. Hiroku walked over to the corner of the room and picked up a large grey shuriken that looked about six feet tall then walked out the room with an annoyed Neji following him. Hiroku closed the shuriken, turning it into a thick blade and placed it behind him in the purple sash he wore.

"Alright, Neji, what's this about?" Hiroku asked as the two Hyuuga began walking down the hallway.

"There has been an attack on Hyuuga grounds," Neji informed. Hiroku lost a step upon hearing the news.

"Who?"

"Hanabi-sama," Neji named.

"Hanabi-chan, huh," Hiroku repeated albeit less-formally. Neji's body twitched slightly. "What are the injuries?"

"She has a few stab wounds."

"Stab wounds! Wasn't someone supposed to be watching her. It seems rather stupid to leave the heir by herself. But then again, there was that incident with Hinata..."

"Someone was watching her. They're dead."

"Shame." Hiroku shook his head. He looked up ahead to see Sakura about to walk into another room to attend a patient.

"Sakura-san," he called. Sakura turned to look at the two boys as they walked towards her. She seemed pleasantly surprised to see Neji with him. She then walked towards them with a curious look on her face.

"Yes, Hiroku-san," Sakura replied.

"I need you to take my shift for today," he began.

"What!" she yelled attracting the whole attention of the people on the floor.

"It's urgent. Apparently, someone was attacked at the Hyuuga compound, and I am requested to go over there and see what happened."

"Get someone else to take your shift," she spoke as she turned around to take care of her own patients.

"You're the best medic here, though," Hiroku stated plainly. "Trained by Tsunade-sama herself. You seem fit for the job. You have a kind personality, and I'm sure people prefer your feminine touch to mine."

Sakura turned around. She stomped over toward Hiroku and took the clipboard from his hands. "You owe me a shift."

Hiroku scratched the back of his head. "Thanks a lot." Hiroku and Neji walked off leaving Sakura to examine his clipboard. Her right eye twitched slightly as she read more and more.

"Flattery gets you everywhere," Hiroku said as they walked outside.

"Let's just hurry. Hiashi-sama is expecting us back soon," Neji remarked.

"Lighten up some," Hiroku suggested as he followed Neji on the rooftops. "Now that we're outside, explain to me what you know?"

"About half an hour ago, Hanabi-sama was attacked by an unnamed assailant. The assailant clearly wanted her to live. A note was found at the scene of the attack on a kunai in Hanabi-sama's back."

"Any leads on the assailant yet?" Hiroku asked.

"None. Currently some branch members are scouting the area for clues."

"Shouldn't we tell Tsunade-sama?"

"Not unless the order is given," Neji replied. Hiroku gave an exasperated sigh.

"Why bring _me_ in?" he mumbled. Neji didn't answer. He was more concerned about completing the given task then anything else.

'Does this have to do with those guys from a few days ago?' Neji thought. He tried to think back to it, but the memory of the event was fuzzy and he could recall very little. Neji looked ahead as they closed in on the Hyuuga compound and landed at the front entrance. They were greeted by two branch family members.

"I brought him," Neji began. The guards let them pass.

"Hiashi-sama is in the training room," one of the guards spoke up. They walked through the main courtyard into the training room. Neji opened the door to see Hiashi sitting in the middle of the dojo. Candles were lit around the room giving a chilling ambiance as if something important had been taken away.

"I have retrieved Hyuuga Hiroku-san as asked," he started.

"I see. Good job." Hiashi stood up and walked towards Hiroku. "Follow me." Hiroku and Neji followed behind the Hyuuga leader as he led them around the house to Hiashi's personal family quarters. He opened the door with Neji and Hiroku following suit after they took their sandals off. Hiroku and Neji were astounded by what they saw.

The house was huge. To the left was the family room, with a wide white couch and a white table in front of it. The floor was wood like a good portion of the other houses on the Hyuuga compound. In the back was the kitchen. It was hard to make out due to the fact that only a little was seen from where they stood. Hiashi kept walking forward forcing Neji and Hiroku to lose their view of the exquisite home's entrance. They walked down a narrow hallway and stopped on the fourth room to the right. Hiashi opened the door to reveal several maids and two of the main members crowding the bed Hanabi laid on.

"What's the half-breed doing here?" one of the members finally voiced out.

"Since the family obviously doesn't want my assistance, I'm leaving," Hiroku began. He turned to walk away. He turned back around quickly however when he heard Hanabi cough up more blood. Hiroku sighed. He couldn't let someone die while he was standing right there, especially a child. He was a medic-nin afterall. It wouldn't be right.

"I'm here now," he mumbled. "Move out the way!" he yelled at the people crowding the bed. The main members shot glares until they stared up at Hiashi, who now had his Byakugan activated. They slowly backed away from him. Hiroku walked towards the bed, grabbed a chair, sat it down, then stared at Hanabi's body. She was in a cold sweat. Her face was pale and her torso was almost entirely wrapped in bandages. There was a bowl of cold water on the right of her on the night stand. Hiroku turned Hanabi's body over to reveal that her blood was seeping through the bandaging. She grunted a little at the sudden touch.

"Don't hurt her," another main branch member yelled at him.

"Shut up. If it wasn't for your bad bandaging I wouldn't have to change them," he reprimanded. He turned to Neji.

"Neji, get me a bowl of cold water, colder than this anyway." Neji walked out the room. "He pointed to a maid in the room. "Get me a bowl of hot water." She soon followed Neji out the room. He then turned around to look at Hanabi. He pulled a kunai from the pouch on his right thigh and cut along the bandaging.

"Can you all leave except for Hiashi-sama? She's his daughter after all. It's hard to concentrate with people breathing down your neck," Hiroku asked. The group stared at Hiashi, waiting for his decision. He waved his hand, signaling them to go.

"We will have a meeting on this later. Go to the counsel room for now," Hiashi declared. They all began to back away and leave the house. Neji and the maid came back with the water and a towel shortly after. Hiroku took the bowls and placed them on the night stand, happy to be free from the detractions. They soon left afterwards leaving Hiashi, Hanabi, and Hiroku in the room. He grabbed the kunai again and began cutting at the bandages, slowly peeling it off until none remained. She began breathing heavily again as he flipped her on her back. He rested her head on the pillow sideways giving her air to breath. Hiroku removed his shuriken and set it on the floor beside him. When he was all set, he formed hand signs.

"Chakra Scalpel," he called as the blue-green chakra covered his hands. He slowly placed his hand on her back as he let the chakra flow through his body to hers. Hiashi stood at the doorpost, watching him work diligently.

'She looks more peaceful,' he noted. Hiroku cocked his head to the side.

"The kunai went in deep, but I don't think she is going to have a scar on her back when all is said and done," Hiroku analyzed. Hiashi gave him a silent nod as he turned Hanabi back over and began pulsing the chakra to her right shoulder. Hanabi's mouth opened slightly then closed as she let the chakra flow into her. Hiroku pulled back and placed a hot towel on her forehead. She moaned a little then accepted the warmth it provided. The medic pulled out a scroll from his pocket and cut himself with a different kunai. He wiped it on the seal and opened the scroll revealing bandages and blood packets.

"What's her blood type?" Hiroku asked.

"A."

Hiroku pulled out a couple of blood packets labeled A on them and set them on the night stand before he closed the scroll and grabbed the set of bandages. The medic-nin gathered chakra in his had, healing the cut quickly before working on Hanabi again. Hiroku lifted Hanabi's body to rest on the bedpost and began to wrap her right shoulder. He went under her arm and over minimizing the length of the bandages. The Hyuuga took the towel off and turned her over again to wrap her torso as well. As he finished, a thought hit him.

'How could an assailant get inside here? This place immediately boots people out who are not Hyuuga or the Hokage without an appointment. Does that mean that there is a rebellion in the works?' Hiroku activated his Byakugan. His eyes widened from the shock. He turned Hanabi over so that she was laying on her back.

"Hiashi-sama," Hiroku began.

"What?" Hiashi snapped back.

"Use your Byakugan and scan Hanabi-chan's body. You'll be in for a surprise." Hiashi's look remained unchanging, but decided to do it anyway, ignoring Hiroku's lack of formality. He focused on Hanabi and noticed several tenketsu closed.

"I noticed that when I first saw her. I wanted you to see them first before I unlocked them." Hiashi walked over to Hiroku and Hanabi and poked the several closed chakra points, opening them again. He turned around and walked out of Hanabi's room.

"Come to the counsel room when you're finished. It appears that a rebellion might be in the works."

Hiroku turned to look at Hanabi. He brushed a bang of brown hair away from her face as he took the towel doused in hot water to her head.

* * *

"I can't believe you left that boy with Hanabi-sama, Hiashi-sama," a main branch member yelled across the room.

"Silence." At the sound of his voice every member there ceased to talk. "The assailant was a Hyuuga. There was tenketsu blocked," Hiashi answered. The counsel began to murmur about this finding.

"What's the proof?" a member asked. "How can we be sure that Hiroku didn't do it? Or it wasn't done while he was examining her?"

"I watched him the whole time. And if you weren't so busy losing your composure and actually checking her body with your Byakugan, you would have noticed it too." The main member quieted down. "The most important thing is to find the assailant. Anyone could be him. There are no exceptions. If one of you are the assailant then step forward. Your death will be quick," Hiashi stated. The room was quiet again. No one rose their hand.

"Now then our next course of action should be..." Hiashi voiced trailed off as Hiroku walked in with a clipboard.

"Well, Hiroku, enlighten us on Hanabi's condition," a main member spoke with malice in his voice. He was one of the older ones in the group.

"It's nice to see you too, Grandfather. Where's Hisa?" Hiroku replied.

"It's none of your concern," he spoke back. Hiroku sighed as he looked ahead at the rest of the counsel.

"According to my report, Hanabi-chan has sustained one stab wound in her right shoulder and a stab wound to the back that apparently turned into a long gash as well as several closed tenketsu in her arms, legs, and torso. Her condition, however, is currently stable. She is expected to make a full recovery with minimal, if any scarring. I request a guard to watch her and alert me if there is any change in her progress. There are blood packets on her night stand. If rapid blood loss happens give her a couple of those packets. Don't be afraid to ask me for more; I can always get some. If that is all, I will be taking by leave." Hiroku walked out of the room handing the clip board to a guard at the door.

The room went silent as the door closed again.

* * *

Hinata sat in the hospital room. She was eager to get home and sleep. Her team had just returned from a B-ranked mission, and she had sustained some injuries that needed medical attention when she returned to Konoha. The nurse sent her to a free room where she was now. She moved a bang of her long indigo hair behind her ear as she thought about the mission. Her thoughts were disrupted when she heard the door knob turn.

"Hinata?" Sakura said surprised to see the Hyuuga girl as her next patient on Hiroku's list. He never put the name down of who the patient was, just the room. Sakura didn't even begin to think about the reason. She found it rather stupid to just put the name of the room down and not the name of the patient, but that's why they have separate rounds. Sakura dwelt on that extra shift that she could dump on Hiroku at any minute. A small smile that hid ill intent appeared on her face before Hinata's voice snapped her back to reality.

"S... Sakura-chan, I didn't know you were healing me today," Hinata spoke in a timid voice.

"I wasn't supposed to. Hiroku was. He said he had something to do at your house. Neji was with him as well. They were saying that someone got attacked or something like that," Sakura replied. Hinata's eyes widened.

"Who was it that got attacked? Do you know?" Hinata asked as Sakura leaned her on the bed to examine her.

"Unfortunately no," Sakura answered. "They were rather vague with the details of it all." She began forming the Chakra Scalpel. "You can go see them after I finish your examination."

"O-okay."

"So tell me, where does it hurt?"

* * *

Hinata began running through the streets of Konoha. She was holding Hiroku's clipboard of patients at the hospital. So many things wondered through her mind.

'Is my family safe?'

'Who was attacked?'

'Are they alright?'

'Was it my fault?'

Hinata ran to the entrance of the Hyuuga compound and stopped as she entered the gate.

"Hinata!" Hiroku called to her. Hinata turned around quickly to see the indigo haired boy staring at her as she caught her breath.

"Sakura-san told me that someone was attacked," Hinata spoke once she caught her breath. Hiroku's face paled a bit.

"Follow me," he said finally. They walked all the way to Hinata's personal quarters.

"W-who was attacked?" Hinata managed to utter out.

"Hanabi-chan," Hiroku declared. It was Hinata's turn to pale. She stopped where she stood causing Hiroku to wait for the shock to get over her.

"Is she alright?"

"She's stable." Hiroku began walking again with Hinata close behind him. They walked into the house and took off their shoes at the doorway. They walked down the hallway and into Hanabi's bedroom. Hinata then rushed past Hiroku and sat on the chair by her bed.

"I thought I told someone to watch her," Hiroku spoke to no one in particular. He looked over at Hinata. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes as she held her sister's smaller hand in her's.

"Supposedly, another Hyuuga did this. I would assume it's more than one. There probably will be more of these attacks on the main branch." Hinata gasped as she took in the information.

"Hinata, I know how you want to be strong. Now you _need_ to be strong."

"I-I know."

"So what now, Hinata?" Hinata put her sister's hands on her forehead. The room went quiet as Hiroku waited for Hinata's answer. It never came.

"I have an idea." Hinata turned around and looked at Hiroku. He had a large grin on his face and his eyes were closed. "I think I might be able to help you decide. If you want, you can meet me out front." Hiroku then took his exit.

Hinata stared at Hanabi's form. She moved a bang from her sister's face and placed her arm over her stomach.

* * *

Hiroku stared at the moon. It slowly became covered by the clouds in the sky. He clutched onto his shuriken as he felt a cold breeze cover his tired form.

"I need to get some sleep. I have a surgery tomorrow." He stood up and stuffed the shuriken in the purple sash. He turned around only to bump directly into Hinata. They regained their balance and looked each other in the eyes.

"Well?" Hiroku asked.

"Will you help me?" Hinata asked timidly, messing with her index fingers as she spoke.

"Sure. Step into the grass over here," Hiroku instructed. Hinata followed Hiroku into the grass. The male Hyuuga walked away from the heiress until they faced each other as the wind blew past them.

"Hinata, when I say you need to be stronger, I don't just mean mentally, but physically as well. You have the strength, but not the confidence nor the determination. Think about that Naruto kid. That usually gives you confidence in these situations. At least, that's what you were mumbling during the chuunin exams." Hinata's whole face turned red at the mention of his name. Hiroku faced formed a deviant grin as he slammed the oversized skuriken into the ground. 'Looks like I found a soft spot.'

"So we will have a brief sparing match. No special techniques, just basic Hyuuga style and academy jutsu, like the clone or the substitution jutsus. We're no geniuses with the style, but we need to at least be par. Agreed?" Hiroku stated.

"I guess so," Hinata replied apprehensively.

"I know your not the fighting type. If you don't want to, we don't have to."

"I-I _do_ want to defend my clan," Hinata responded quickly.

Hiroku shrugged his shoulders. "Okay. When the cloud clears and the moon is revealed the match will begin," Hiroku announced pointing up to the sky. Hinata watched as the clouds backed away from the moon.

'Now, I have a stress reliever,' Hiroku thought as he assumed the basic stance, activating his Byakugan. He felt a very small tinge of guilt before he concluded how bad he needed this. Since that whole Sound/Sand Invasion, Hiroku had been dragged on several missions. Because high-ranked medic-nin were needed on the battlefield, he was often sent out on missions. It would be nice to just have a small sparring match for once with no strings attached. Well, maybe the string of relieving some stress, but he decided against counting that.

Hinata activated her Byakugan quickly as Hiroku charged at her. He did nothing fancy, simply extending a right palm. Hinata knocked it away with precision by smacking his wrist with her left. She then took the time to fire her own blow to her right. Hiroku ducked the blow nimbly and jumped backwards waiting for Hinata to attack. She stood still as if beckoning him to her, standing in the basic stance. Hiroku mimicked her, deciding it was best to stand in the stance as well. They stood there for what felt like hours, neither wavering. The only movements made were the occasional footing changes to better strike quickly and efficiently.

Hiroku grunted as he charged, launching a series of palm thrusts at Hinata's torso, searching for an opening. He found several, but none that he could exploit without leaving himself open. He caught Hinata's left arm with his right hand and pulled her in close as she attempted to strike his right shoulder. He stuck his two fingers out aiming for her arm only for her to grab his wrist with her other arm as well.

They stared at each other before they both jumped backwards. Hiroku let loose a little smirk. "My, my, Hinata-chan, you _have_ improved since the chuunin exams." Hinata blushed at the sudden recognition.

"Should we call it quits?" Hiroku asked.

Hinata shook her head. "I-I want to see how much I've improved."

"Oh." Hiroku charged at her again. He stopped in front of her only to disappear. Hinata began to scope the field with her Byakugan. She looked to her left only to see Hiroku standing in front of her. She reacted quickly and hit him in the chest. Hiroku staggered backwards, clearly not expecting the attack.

"Wow," he remarked before he disappeared into a log. Hinata's eyes widened as she looked behind her. She saw Hiroku standing over her. Before she reacted, he put his right index and middle fingers on her forehead and pushed her. Hinata's surprise from his sudden appearance combined with her loss of balance caused her to fall on the ground.

"Too slow, Hinata. However..." He offered her his hand. "Good try though." She took his hand timidly and waited for him to help her up.

"Hiroku-kun. Hinata-sama," a maid of the Hyuuga yelled.

"What?" Hiroku asked as Hinata brushed herself off.

"It's Hanabi-sama, her condition has worsened."

"What?" Hiroku yelled with a look of surprise on his face. Hinata simply paled.

"Here we go again," he muttered. And just like that, Hiroku's stress levels jumped off the charts.

* * *

"What does that man want this time?" Hachio asked no one in particular as he leaned against a tree waiting for Ikeda Katsu to return. He rubbed his spiky brown hair roughly. They were in the same alleyway again. Katsu found them early in the morning and asked them to meet him here tonight.

"Give it time, Hachio," Hiroyuki demanded, tired of Hachio asking the same question.

"Everyone else is in the hotels outside town, right?" Hachio asked.

"Yeah." Hiroyuki looked ahead. "That's him now," he declared as he walked towards the shadowy figure walking towards them.

Hiroyuki stopped walking when he recognized the boy. Hachio following close behind kept walking when Hiroyuki stopped. When he got a good look at the boy, he stood still as well, eyes as wide as plates.

"Hisoka!" they yelled. Hisoka wore the same time he had on when he was handed over to Katsu for their 'cure'. They were not expecting to see him again any time soon. The most intriguing thing about him, however, was the large tan bag he was carrying over his back.

"Um, sorry about tying you up a couple of days ago," Hachio told him.

"Don't worry about it. We're cured, aren't we," Hisoka replied.

"That's true," Hachio agreed, rubbing the back of his head. Hisoka set the bag on the ground.

"What's in the bag?" Hiroyuki asked.

"Something Ikeda-san wanted me to give you." He opened the bag to reveal several ANBU masks.

"What are we going to do with those?" Hachio asked picking one shaped like a fox up.

"It's to hide your identity," Hisoka explained. "Ikeda-san said you'd know what to do with them when the time came. There are some extras in there just in case."

"Why'd he send you?" Hiroyuki continued the barrage of questions.

"Ikeda-san is sick. He couldn't be here today. I'm his personal assistant," Hisoka answered.

"I see." Hiroyuki watched Hachio pick up the bag and turn around.

"Hajime might know what to do with these," Hachio told them as he walked away.

"Good bye," Hisoka said before he disappeared. Hiroyuki stood there flabbergasted. He sighed as he turned to walk with Hachio.

* * *

"I think she's stable again," Hiroku declared. He turned around to see Hinata playing with her index fingers. He lifted his chakra covered hands away from Hanabi. "She should regain consciousness in the morning. Hinata, you can take it from here. I'll go report this to your father."

"O-okay." Hiroku grabbed his shuriken and walked out of the room leaving Hanabi.

Hinata walked over to Hanabi and sat down in the stool beside her bedside. "I-I know we don't really see each other often and you probably don't like me really, but I really want you to get better. Maybe we could try t-to build something off of this," Hinata spoke to Hanabi knowing she didn't hear her. She grabbed Hanabi's right hand again and placed it in hers. She held the tears back a little, allowing only one or two to fall at a time. She knew she needed to be strong and yet. Hinata reached over Hanabi's bed and kissed her little sister on the forehead.

And yet...

* * *

A/N: Well, that's the end of the second chapter. Hinata finally is introduced as well as Hiroku. This chapter is mainly setup for what happens next. I hope I kept everyone in character. Also, I would like a beta for this fic. If anyone wants to, leave a review or PM me. Well, please R/R. I really do value your opinions. Until next chapter.


	3. Rising Anger Roaring Cries

Here are the review responses.

whiteraven12345: Thanks a lot. I'll keep you in reserve for betaing the fic. Thanks for the offer.

Lexy the Thief: Technically it can be spelt both ways. However, since I get these all the time, I changed it.

Kira Rose: Thanks for checking where the errors were. I tried to find them all.

Without Fear: I'm glad that the OC's and CC's mingle well. That's great for me to hear. I'm working on making my sentences less choppy. It's a major weakness of mine. I'm glad that someone likes the rebellious Hyuuga side as well.

To all those who read this and didn't review, favored the story, alerted the story, or added it to a C2, thank you so much and I hope you continue reading.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 3: Rising Anger; Roaring Cries

Hinata shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She sat upright wiping the small traces of drool that marked her face, making a smacking noise while rubbing her eyes groggily trying to regain full consciousness. She yawned once and stared at her little sister. The blue blankets that covered her were embraced by wrinkles as Hinata stared at her sister's still form.

"I-I must have slept in here l-last night," Hinata mumbled to herself before she stood upright. She grabbed the chair and set it at the corner of the room before she walked to the kitchen. She reached into the cabinet and pulled out a small glass, then walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a container of water inside. She poured the water into the cup and set the container aside and grasped the cup as if she had been in the dessert without water for days. She drank quickly and set the cup on the table only to fill it up again. When her thirst was quenched, she headed towards her room and glanced around, shaking the last remainders of sleep away from her. She was never one for many possessions despite her status. White walls adorned her room as well as a wood flooring. Right by the door was her bed covered neatly by white sheets. Across the room was a light brown desk with a picture of her teammates. She walked over to the desk and picked up the photo. She stared at it for a minute then set it back down beside a picture of her long-time crush, Naruto. She had not seen him in a couple of years and eagerly waited his return. The thought of him made her cheeks fill with blood as she turned her head before she got carried away with thoughts about the blond.

Hinata walked over to the dresser and placed the clothes she was going to wear for the day. It was really simple. It was a black shirt and purple pants. She set it on the bed as well as a set of fishnet and underwear. She took her jacket off as set it on the bed as well.

She walked over to her right and opened the door leading to her bathroom. She stepped on the tiled floor, walked over to the shower and cut the water on. She looked at the mirror across from the medium sized shower and examined herself for any leftover drool. The Hyuuga let out a small grin, satisfied with her appearance as she got undressed. She reached into the cabinet below her and pulled out a towel and a bar of soap then stepped into the now hot shower water. She let the hot water hit her body for a while.

"Hanabi, she's supposed to be conscious again," she mumbled. Her words were overtaken by the shower water. She thought back to the conversation with Hiroku the day before.

"_Supposedly, another Hyuuga did this. I would assume it's more than one..." _

'Who would do such a thing?' Hinata pondered in her mind as she began to wash her body. Her face grew more perplexed as she tried to figure out the assailant. She eventually gave up and decided it was better to enjoy her shower. Hinata grabbed the shampoo bottle and began washing her hair gingerly. She couldn't remember why she decided to grow her hair. She started shortly after Naruto left. Kiba approved of it, but Shino said little to nothing about it, though she had him say once that she looked better with long hair, earning a light blush from her when she first heard it. She smiled as she thought back on the memories and cut the water off. She stepped out of the shower while wrapping the towel around her torso and upper legs, deciding it was best to let her hair dry naturally and stepped out the bathroom.

She finished drying off and put on the clothes on the bed. When she deemed herself ready, she stepped out of her room and walked to the front door. The first thing Hinata noticed when she stepped out was a maid running past her to Hanabi's room.

She thought nothing of it and instead headed towards the door. She had the day off today and thought she might as well get some training in. The purple haired girl stepped into her sandals and walked out the door. The training ground wasn't too far away from her house. She walked there at a brisk pace, enjoying the clear view of the sun. Her walk turned into a run as she neared the training ground. It was a beautiful spot to the Hyuuga girl. Green grass covered the ground with a few trees stumps here and there. What was the most beautiful to her was the pond behind it all where she usually would train. A grin formed on her face as she ran towards the pond. It always brought a smile to her face staring at the clear water, seeing her reflection. She stepped onto the water and walked into the center.

"Byakugan!" Hinata said activated her bloodline. The chunin took a deep breath before dropping into the Jyuken stance. Extending her right palm, she watched as the water reacted to her determination. The heiress followed the attack with another quick palm thrust before spinning around extending her hands in several different places. Once she established a rhythm, she continued, letting out a few grunts occasionally.

"Hinata!" Hinata stopped immediately and turned around to meet her father's gaze. He seemed uptight, which was unusual seeing as he hardly let any emotions show on his face.

"Yes, Father," Hinata responded, walking towards him, taking the time to catch her breath.

"It is unsafe for you to train out here alone. That is exactly how Hanabi was attacked. If you are going to do that, then have someone watching you at all times. Understood," Hiashi explained, his tone firm and unyielding. Hinata looked at the water beneath her feet before she nodded at her father's words.

"Good. Come inside now. The maids have your breakfast ready." Without another word, Hiashi walked away from the lake. He could hear Hinata stutter-step behind him, albeit at a slower pace. They walked to their private quarters. The second Hiashi saw his daughter safe inside, he headed towards the counsel room without a word. He wasn't in much of a rush. Last night had effectively killed his sleep. He had not felt this out of it since the aftermath of Hinata's kidnaping. He had already made a critical mistake once, he refused to let another one happen again. He would take his time and analyze the situation, something we wished he did on that night. Hiashi exited the thought out of his head as he opened the door to the counsel room and took his seat in the center. The clan leader noticed most of the main branch family members had already taken their seats. Some were even more on edge than he was. A feat he thought was impossible.

"Let's begin."

A balding member stood up. "If the culprit being a Hyuuga is really true, I suggest we check each of cadet branch member..."

"You forget. It could be anyone in the clan, not just cadets," another member replied quickly folding his hands over his face.

"First off, we need to establish _why_ someone would do this. We'll divide this between main and cadet branches, starting with main," Hiashi explained. Silence filled the candle-lit room as a Hyuuga finally stood up to answer.

"Maybe they hate the way Hiashi-sama rules," a member finally spoke up.

"Nonsense!" another member yelled.

"Is it really?" Hiashi replied cryptically. "In any group, there will always be someone who wants to overrule the current leader. That's just human nature. You would have to be delusional to think otherwise."

"The future," another member established.

"Explain," Hiashi demanded.

"The future head of the clan is looking to be Hanabi-sama and maybe Hinata-sama. Both have yet to prove themselves powerful enough, though Hanabi-sama has much, much more potential. Not to mention they are both female. Not many Hyuuga want to be ruled by a female, especially a weak one." The counsel muttered in agreement. A valid point was made.

Hiashi closed his eyes in thought as he let all this information sink in. He ran through the different outcomes of the statements before opening them again. "The Cadet branch," Hiashi said simply.

"Revenge."

"That's an obvious one!" another member stated. The first member cast him an angry glance before continuing.

"In reality, a good portion of the cadet branch fears or hates us. That's what's really obvious. They would want to overrun us at any given chance, especially after the invasion by Sound and Sand."

"What about the curse seal? Surely they remember what happens!" another member said standing to his feet.

"Maybe they are just foolish."

"Maybe they need to be reminded." The members cast a skeptical look at the man who made the sadistic idea. The Hyuuga cleared his throat before continuing. "This can serve a two fold purpose. On one hand, we can remind the cadet's who are in charge, and on the other it will let us know if there are any flaws in the curse seal."

"Blasphemy!" another member yelled across the room.

"There is no way someone could figure out a way to break the seal without reading the records in Hiashi-sama's personal library. That could mean it could be only two people in his house. His wife or his eldest daughter."

"You're reading too much into this. Why would they want the records and harm their own flesh and blood?"

"Don't be so delusional! You never know these days. The Sand were our allies, and they still attacked us!"

"How can you even compare these two situations to each other!"

"ENOUGH!!" Hiashi yelled, activating his Byakugan while slamming his hands on the desk. The room was silent once more as all eyes gazed on Hiashi.

"This is starting to get out of control and this incident is turning us against each other. We are Hyuuga! One of the most prestigious clans in the Leaf Village. We can solve this." He sat down and deactivated his blood line, taking a deep breath. "All in favor of this 'reminder' raise your hand." He watched as the majority of the Hyuuga rose their hands. "It is settled. Alert all Cadet members and instruct them to meet me in the courtyard at sunset. That is all!" The counsel dismissed quietly leaving Hiashi alone in the candle-lit room. He laced his fingers together and placed them over his face.

'I'm sorry, Neji.' He stood up to leave. As the Hyuuga leader opened the door, he was greeted to a cadet branch member running towards him. He noted that the member was indeed female, probably in her twenties, with long, dark brown hair being somewhat held up by the forehead protector that covered the curse seal. She wore traditional black Hyuuga robes that seemed to fly in the wind, signifying they were a bit too big for her. Hiashi arched an eyebrow as the Hyuuga female took some time to catch her breath.

"Hiashi-sama, Hanabi-sama has awoken." Hiashi made very subtle movements as he took a couple of seconds to let the information process into his head.

"Oh?" Hiashi said simply. He walked past the woman as she turned around and followed him a couple of feet back. Hiashi casually walked towards his private quarters and signaled to the girl to be on her way. The woman bowed and did as she was told. Once inside, Hiashi took a deep breath before he walked down the hallway leading to his youngest daughter's room. There was much arguing between the maids inside. Each trying to do a specific task for their leader. Hiashi ignored it and stood in front of the door. He turned the doorknob and opened the door expecting even more commotion. What he beheld was something entirely different than the image that ran through his head moments ago.

Hanabi was sitting up on her bed, her hands in her lap. She looked up at her father then looked back down.

"Where's Hinata?" Hiashi asked sternly.

"She went to the bathroom," Hanabi answered plainly. Hiashi said nothing in response. The two stayed in the same place for a couple of minutes, Hanabi never making eye contact with her father.

"I'm sorry for my weakness, Father," Hanabi finally broke the silence, biting her lower lip as she finished the apology. "I know you have such high hopes for me. I need to be stronger. If I can't handle them then..."

"How are you feeling?" Hiashi interrupted.

"Huh?"

"How are you feeling?" he repeated.

"I feel great, Father," Hanabi said as she ran a finger over the bandages.

"Tell me then... what happened and who attacked you?" Haishi continued, getting right to the point. He needed this vital information now. Nobody attacks Hyuuga Hiashi's daughter and keeps breathing. The incident with Hinata was proof of that.

Hanabi looked back down at the rumpled sheets as she tried to recount what happened the day before. Hiashi noticed a crack in her expression. Her eyes were now wide and she clutched her head.

"I...I can't remember," Hanabi answered timidly.

"What do you mean 'you can't remember?'" Hiashi said, his temper rising.

"I remember getting my tenketsu struck and getting slashed at, then falling, but I don't remember the face," Hanabi recounted. She finally looked at her father's face. He let a flicker of somberness fall through, if only for a moment.

"I see," Hiashi said finally. "There will be a Hyuuga medic-nin that will check up on you later, until then rest up because we will begin training again first thing in the morning."

"What's his name?" Hanabi asked.

"Hyuuga Hiroku," he answered as he walked out the room and closed the door. The Hyuuga leader turned to his right to stare at his eldest daughter. Her hands were behind her back, her eyes looking at the floor. Hiashi placed his right palm on his daughter's head causing her to look up at him in the eyes. He said nothing. Eye contact should be enough.

Hiashi said turned towards the end of the hallway leaving Hinata to be with her sister.

* * *

"Hiashi-sama, Hiroku-san has requested to see you," a branch member announced walking into his office.

"Send him in." The Hyuuga clan leader squeezed the bridge of his nose as the medic-nin walked through the office door. He noticed the candle-lit ambience and stared at the leader.

"Interesting decorating idea," he stated sarcastically as he moved to sit down on a chair in front of the desk.

"Hanabi is conscious, as you said," Hiashi declared bluntly. He was never the person to sugarcoat things.

"That's good to hear." He paused, as if he was unsure if he wanted to continue. "I don't know if this is my business, but does she remember anything about the attack?"

"She remembers very little."

Hiroku let out an exasperated sigh. "Figures. These guys are good."

"Go check on her condition. I want to know when she is able to train again." He looked at the maid by the door. "Take him to her."

"Yes sir." At those words, Hiroku wordlessly stood up and walked away. As they left, Hiashi could feel the cold silence swarm the room. He took a deep breath and took the time to clear his thoughts. He then looked up, noticing the doorknob twisting and turning. The door then opened shortly after.

"Hiashi-sama, they have all been gathered," a main branch member declared as he stood by the exit. Hiashi stood up without a word and walked out towards the open field in the Hyuuga compound.

There they stood. All in several lines wondering what was about to happen. Hiashi glanced over the Branch members before he spotted Neji. He felt a hint of remorse though he didn't show it. The leader looked up at the sunset before speaking.

"As you know, my daughter, Hanabi, had been attacked lately. It is agreed upon by the main branch that one if not several Hyuuga had a part in initiating this attack. Which leads me to this: Whoever is responsible for this step forward!"

Silence. No soul made a move. Children were quiet as they clutched their parent's hands in fear of what would happen next.

"I see." Hiashi slowly lifted his right hand and formed a seal, activating the curse that plagued the branch members. Screams of agony and cries of mercy rained throughout the compound. Quite a distance away, Hiroku could feel a sharp pain in his right arm. He clutched the arm where the curse seal lay painfully as he made his way to the door. Hiroku looked at the now glowing seal on his arm.

'What is going on?' Hiroku thought to himself as he tried futilely to mask the pain. The maid lead him down the now familiar narrow hallway to Hanabi's room. He walked past the maid as she stood to the side of the door, letting him in. As he walked in, he saw a Hyuuga girl sitting by Hanabi. The girl was about a year older than Hanabi, who was sleeping at the moment. She had long violet hair with the bangs pushed to the side of her face, her forehead untouched by the curse seal of the Hyuuga. The only thing she was wearing was a plain black kimono; she was also barefooted. The girl focused her Byakugan at Hiroku. She raised an eyebrow as she turned to face him.

"State your business," the girl demanded.

* * *

Groans from various Hyuuga branch members were heard all around the compound. Some attempted to pick themselves off the ground while others just laid there in pain.

"That's for all those who dare think to do such a thing in the future." With not another word said, Hiashi left the wailing members to their own devices.

* * *

"Hisa, it's been a long time," Hiroku replied, seemingly ignoring her question. His voice was somber, but holding both a sound of happiness and surprise. The pain pulsing through his arms that was slowly creeping upwards seemed to become a dull roar as he stared at her. "You certainly look like you fit in."

"State your business," the girl repeated, anger was evident in her voice as she reached for a kunai. "Are you one of the assailants?"

The pain in Hiroku's arm slowly began to disappear as he stared at the girl. "This is how you treat your brother after not seeing him for years?" The Hyuuga girl clasped the kunai tighter in her right hand.

"I will not ask you again. State your business."

A doleful look was evident on Hiroku's face as he opened his mouth. "I'm here to check on Hanabi."

"Don't make me laugh. You know you're not allowed on the compound. Don't give me that crappy excuse. Really, why are you..."

"Hisa, it's okay." Hisa turned around to see a fully conscious Hanabi sitting up in her bed. Hanabi stared at the male in front of the doorway.

"Hanabi-sama, you know he's not supposed to be here," Hisa retorted quickly.

"Are you Hiroku-san?" Hanabi seemed to ignore her question. Hiroku nodded.

"Father said that you would come to check on me to see if I could train again soon. Is that what you're here for?" He nodded again.

Hiroku marveled at the young Hyuuga's calmness. "If you don't mind..." Hisa narrowed her eyes as she stood up to leave, slamming the door behind her.

The indigo haired boy sighed as he sat down and pulled out a scroll. He bit his finger and placed it on the scroll. Shortly after, bandages and blood packets appeared. "I'm going to have to put new bandaging on you."

"I thought you sealed all my cuts."

"I did, but this will add stability to your body. So just take it easy, okay Hanabi-chan." Hanabi gave Hiroku a surprised glance. He returned the glance with one of his own, then proceeded to unwrap the bandages.

The room was quiet as Hiroku discarded the old bandaging and began replacing it with new bandaging.

"So, Hanabi-chan, do you remember anything about your assualt?"

Hanabi shifted uneasily at a stranger calling her Hanabi-_chan_ when she was so used to Hanabi-_sama_. 'What's with this guy?'

"Hanabi-chan?" Hiroku's voice snapped the girl back into reality as she looked at him questioningly. "I asked if you remembered anything about the attack."

"No," she replied.

"Oh. So where's Hinata-chan?"

"I don't know. Probably with her team." Hanabi shifted uneasily again. 'What _is_ up with this guy? He talks to Hinata the same way?'

"Hmm," Hiroku uttered. "Lay back, please." Hanabi complied wordlessly. He placed his chakra covered right hand on Hanabi's head. She could feel the warm chakra pulse through her brain. The young heiress could feel Hiroku pulling for something deep within her psyche. He then lifted his hand and signaled for her to sit up.

"Do you remember anything now?"

Hanabi closed her eyes and tried to re-account any details. She opened her eyes sharply and looked at Hiroku. "I saw someone!"

"Who?"

"I-I don't know."

Hiroku rubbed his hair violently. "I think I might know someone who can help us out."

"Really? Who?" Hanabi's response caused Hiroku to be taken aback a little. Was that calmness an act?

"Someone in the ANBU. She knows a technique that might be of use." He placed his hands on Hanabi's shoulders and gently pushed her down on the bed.

"Get some rest. You have my clearance to train tomorrow. I know that's what you want," Hiroku told her as he pulled the sheets up to her. He picked up the scroll and closed it.

"Hiroku-san?"

"Yes."

"Hisa is your sister?"

"Yes. Why?"

"She just never mentions you."

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure she hates me. It's not like that with you and Hinata is it?"

"No."

"Figures. You two are lucky. You must have a nice bond." He stood up and walked out the door, closing it behind him.

Hanabi sat up in her bed again and stared at the door as Hiroku walked out. She stared down at the sheets again, a small grin crept up on her face.

"Bond. What bond? No, Hiroku-san. We don't even know that each other exists..."

* * *

A/N: Well, that's the end of chapter three. I attempted to add some insight on what the Hyuuga elders thought about the incident. After all, this fic is supposed to have some Hyuuga politics. I hope that it was realistic enough. Of course, with every action, there is a consequence. In this case, I want to try to keep the immediate consequences of Hiashi's action in one chapter and not start it towards the end. I'm still having conflicts with Hanabi's character. The manga is so vague on her that while I can manipulate things here and there, it's becomes such a pain. Anyway, rambling is done. So let me know your thoughts. Suggestions you want to make will always be taken into consideration, remember that. Until next time.


	4. Consequences

Here are the review responses:

Rizo: Thanks for the review. Actually the pacing is slow on purpose. Don't worry. The pacing will pick up in a few chapters.

whiteraven12345: Thanks for the review. Yes, Hisa is coming back although she isn't in this chapter.

Without Fear: Thanks for the review. I'm trying to get better with my choppiness. It's good to know that I'm improving somewhat. Again, it's nice seeing someone liking the rebellious Hyuuga. They each have their own reasons. Some petty, some tragic. I'm glad that my handling OC's and CC's is working well.

Red Blaze BC: Thanks for favoring and alerting the story. I'm guessing that you really enjoyed it.

To all those who read this and didn't review, who favored the story, who alerted the story, or who added it to a C2, thank you so much and I hope you continue reading and enjoying the story. Now onto chapter 4, Consequences.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 4: Consequences

"That bastard!" Fujiko yelled, as she kicked down the door to the hotel room just on the outskirts of Konoha where the rebels were currently staying.

"Calm down, Fujiko," Hachio replied in a feeble attempt to calm her down. As long as he had known her, he never could figure out why she let her temper flare at any moment. It was simply something he had grown accustomed to.

"We should have seen this coming," Hyuuga Harumi said as she followed in after the two of them. She moved a bang of her dark brown hair behind her ear as the others joined afterwards.

"No, I don't think so," Hiroyuki inputted. "I never thought he would go this far with it. Torturing the whole entire cadet branch was something not calculated in our plans."

Hotaru looked around the small living room that the rebel Hyuuga occupied. "Are we missing someone?"

"Yeah. Hajime stayed back to try to find some new recruits. With this dilemma, now is the best time to get people to join our cause." Hiroyuki stared at his group, making eye contact with each one before he spoke again. "We will win! This is our rallying point! Hajime will find someone." This wasn't something that he was good at, and judging by the look on his comrade's faces that they weren't enthused by this sudden verbal show of leadership either. 'Maybe this group would be better off without a specific leader.'

"I suppose so. He was in the ANBU Interrogation Squad. He'll know how to draw people to our side," Hachio replied.

"Hajime is in the ANBU?" Hotaru looked at Hachio wide-eyed. The group only met together recently. They still don't know much about each other.

"Yeah," Hachio replied. "He's been in there for quite a few years. He apparently knows some special technique that allows him to manipulate the memories of a person by applying chakra to their head."

"That's why he is so detrimental to your revenge, correct?" All the Hyuuga in the room turned around to stare at the man at the door.

"Katsu!" they yelled.

"What are you doing here?" Hiroyuki asked. "How did you find us?"

"I'm here to see how you're doing. Hisoka is running an errand for me, and I had some time to kill so I figured I would see how you're doing. He told me where you were by using his Byakugan. By the sound of it, you have not been doing well."

"No thanks to you," Fujiko said.

"Fujiko, why the frown?" Katsu asked.

"Don't act like you care," Fujiko retorted.

"If that is your wish." Katsu walked inside and closed the door behind him. "So what has been going on?"

"Hiashi has penalized the whole cadet branch members for attack his daughter," Hotaru informed him.

"Oh my," Katsu replied. "What a cold-hearted man."

"For all we know, you could be colder," Hachio retorted.

"Maybe you're right. But, then again, you'll have to be just as cold to complete your revenge. Remember that. You're ninja after all. We're all in some ways cold."

The door opened once again revealing Hajime and another male beside him. He was a tall, lanky man with long brown hair. He wore a white shirt and pants with his forehead protector on his forehead.

Hajime let a smirk grow on his face. "We have a new recruit."

"So I see," Katsu spoke up. "What is your name?"

"My name is Hyuuga Hiryuu." the man introduced himself. He turned to look at Hajime. "Surely this man can't be the one who will help us with our goal."

"Well, why should I not be him?" Katsu asked.

"You seem weak," Hiryuu answered.

"Is that the reason you give?"

"Yeah. Care to prove me wrong?"

Katsu shook his head. "Not really, no."

Hiryuu grit his teeth. "I'm leaving." He began to walk down the stairs hastily.

"Wait a moment," Katsu said. All eyes focused on Katsu.

"What is it?" Hiryuu replied.

"I guess I do indeed need to assert my strength from time to time. Don't want to get rusty."

"Alright old man, let's take this outside."

* * *

It was dark. No candlelight. No sunlight could escape through those thick walls that surrounded the Hyuuga leader.

Disgusted.

That was the only way to describe how he felt. There was no much more to say. He knew there was one thing that he had to do though. One crucial thing.

His pale eyes stood out in the darkness.

* * *

Neji sat up in his room holding his forehead.

"That man," he mumbled. "After all this... Why?"

"What is happening to this clan?" He laid down on his bed as he tried to recollect the memories of that day. Bits and pieces arose, but not enough to matter. He sighed as he rolled over onto his side.

"What is the main branch hiding?" He pondered on that thought until sleep took him.

* * *

The wind blew with full force as the comrades stood outside. Katsu and Hiryuu stood face to face in the middle of the alley while the non-participating members of the fight stood in the corner.

Hachio stared at Katsu menacingly, remembering the time he had the brief skirmish between Katsu and himself.

"Silly me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ikeda Katsu." He touched the bandaging on his left eye before pushing up his glasses.

"That nice old man," Hiryuu said activating his Byakugan. "Now let's fight!" He charged at Katsu with full speed as he extended two fingers.

"So hasty," Katsu mumbled as his left hand formed a fist. He slammed it into his open hand and pulled out a sword. Hiryuu grit his teeth as he extended his fingers towards Katsu's left arm. Katsu blocked the strike with the sword effortlessly. He swung his sword vertically as if it was all in one motion. Hiryuu dodged the attack nimbly. She jumped backwards until he was a safe distance from the sword-wielder.

"What kind of technique is that?" Hiryuu asked.

"The technique is called the Sword Seal Jutsu, but that's not important." Katsu charged toward Hiryuu quickly. He jumped in the air fluidly as he separated into three. Hiryuu's eyes widened as he stared at the three men in front of him. Hiryuu sidestepped the closest man to him as the other one appeared beside him. Hiryuu glanced over and tried to bend his body to avoid the second strike. However, to his surprise the second Katsu disappeared. Hiryuu looked up at Katsu came down, sword high above him.

"Leaf Style: Crescent Moon Dance!" Katsu yelled as the blade struck his opponent in the stomach. Hiryuu's body was slammed into the ground forcefully as the concrete broke from the attack. Dust rose up covering the two shinobi.

As the dust settled, Katsu loomed over Hiryuu, blade pointed at his throat. "Be glad that I decided to use the dull side of the blade. Never underestimate your opponent, no matter how he looks. Understand?" Hiryuu nodded. "I remember when I was young and acted as foolishly as you did, and it cost me greatly. Don't make the same mistake." He ripped the forehead protector off the Hyuuga's forehead. He cut his finger with the sword and threw it down. Katsu stepped on Hiryuu's stomach, earning a grunt of pain from the man below him.

"What are you doing?" Hiryuu demanded to know as the medic-nin began making hand signs. Katsu didn't answer. Instead, he slammed his hand on the Hyuuga's forehead. A few moments later, Katsu stood up and motioned everyone back upstairs, seemingly oblivious to the crater he just made. The one-eyed man picked up the sword and opened his right hand. He placed the tip of the blade on his hand and formed chakra. Katsu began to push the blade back inside his hand until it disappeared from sight.

"Wow," Fujiko said simply. "He _is _strong."

"Yeah," Hiroyuki agreed as he offered a hand to Hiryuu. "Welcome to the group." Hiryuu accepted the hand with a huff.

"I'm not weak." Hiroyuki said nothing and instead followed his comrades up the stairs.

"Sit down. Sit down," Katsu instructed. He sat down in a chair by the television set. All the Hyuuga gathered around sat in the living room.

"Are you ready to take the offensive?" Katsu asked.

"No, not yet." All eyes turned to Hajime.

"What do you mean. We have enough people," Fujiko stated.

"We have a lot of people, but there is one thing we need," Hajime responded.

"What?" Katsu asked.

"A negotiator."

"A negotiator?" the group repeated.

"Yes."

"Why?" Hachio asked.

"We need a negotiator to help others join our cause and to have Konoha and the Hyuuga family to agree to any terms we set when we subdue the main branch."

"Seems a bit farfetched to me. Either way, who do you have in mind?" Hiroyuki asked.

"Hyuuga Hiroku," Hachio named. "He's also a medic even though we already have one."

"I guess I can see your point," Hiroyuki said. "What's your plan?"

"We get those masks and follow Hiroku until he is most vulnerable. We then confront him without revealing our identity. I have already gotten information on him and his team. We will compose of a team of four which consists of myself, Hiryuu, Harumi, and Fumio." Hajime walked over to the box of masks that Hisoka gave them a few days ago. "You three, pick one."

Harumi and Fumio walked up and picked out a mask. Harumi picked the otter while Fumio picked the tiger. Hajime pulled out an alligator. He then picked up a bat mask and tossed it at Hiryuu.

"Here, cripple," he said as Hiryuu caught the mask.

"Hiryuu placed the mask over his face. "You'll regret those words one of these days, Hajime."

* * *

"You want me to spend my off day helping you with the family you could care less about. I'm not convinced," a red-headed girl answered with a puff, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared at her teammate.

"Please, Sumiko. Remember all we've been through? You said that you would be there to help out when I needed it and vice-versa," Hiroku pleaded. "We are teammates after all."

The black-clad girl stared at him skeptically. "You're lucky I place so much trust in you. Come inside. I'll go get ready."

"Right. After that, we can go to that new restaurant that opened and see that movie that people have been raving about," Hiroku replied as he walked inside Sumiko's house.

"I hear it's really violent and gory. Just my type," Sumiko said as she began walking up the stairs after pointing Hiroku in the direction of the couch.

"I hear it has romance in it too."

"Just my type as well," Sumiko continued.

The room then went quiet. Hiroku began thinking about the day before.

'Just what happened yesterday. I'm walking down the hallway of Hanabi's house, and I feel sharp pain in my arm." Hiroku clutched his arm as he thought. He closed his eyes as he went deeper into thought.

'Hiashi activated the curse seal. That's the only reason I can think off that my arm would hurt so much and continue to creep upwards towards my head. However, if that's the case then why would he do something so drastic?'

Hiroku released a deep sigh as a leaned back on the couch and opened his eyes. "I could never be the Hyuuga clan leader. Too much stress. Not that I don't have a lot of stress anyway."

"Why would you want to be the Hyuuga clan leader?" Hiroku turned his gaze towards the steps to stare at his teammate again. Sumiko's clothes had changed completely. She now wore a red shirt and a knee length white skirt. On each arm, she wore red gauntlets. Her shoulder-length hair was let out as well. Her green eyes held a questioning look as she stared at his teammate.

"What?" she asked upon Hiroku's constant staring.

"It's just rare you ever wear a skirt. That's all," Hiroku answered.

"Whatever." She watched as Hiroku walked up to her. She noticed that the white shirt and tan pants he wore were probably new. She focused onto Hiroku's face which was eyeing her intently.

"I see the scar below your right eye is less noticeable."

"Yeah. It's never going to go away so just get over it," Sumiko retorted.

"Don't be so rude. I'm just noticing."

"Sure."

"Also, you should probably lose the gauntlets. We aren't looking for a brawl." Hiroku pointed to the gauntlets on her arms.

"Is that why you left your shuriken?" Hiroku nodded.

"Too bad. I'm going with them whether you like it or not. Now let's go to the stupid compound and get this over with. You better have a good reason for dragging me over here." Sumiko headed towards the door walking past Hiroku.

"I do." He turned to follow his teammate out the door.

* * *

"Hiashi-sama, he's here," a maid called. She gasped as she looked around the room. The ambiance was the same. It was dark. The only light forthcoming was candlelight. She had heard of both odd and unique ways of expressing sadness and grief, but she couldn't help but thing that the Hyuuga leader was taking this a bit far. The only thing that the woman could make out was the very small table in front of Hiashi that held the candle and two small white chairs that had a bright red tint from the candlelight. Hiashi was never one for vocalizing his emotions with his words, but his actions dictate something entirely different. The woman had to activate her Byakugan to get a clear view of everything that was in the room. Once again thankful for her Byakugan, she stood as she waited for her master's next words.

"Send him in," Hiashi replied. The maid nodded and dashed out the room. A few moments later, Neji appeared. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed his new surroundings. Hiashi motioned Neji to take a seat in front of him. Neji sat down wordlessly and stared at Hiashi as he closed his eyes deep in thought.

"I assume you are wondering why I called you in here," Hiashi began. Neji nodded his head slowly, almost hesitantly. Small beads of sweat rolled down the side of him head as his mouth dried up. His fists were clutched so tight that Neji thought he could feel blood trickling down. He hoped that wasn't the case and that it was simply paranoia, but he didn't have time to look. His focus was entirely on the man in front of him.

"To answer your question, it was to apologize for last night." Neji's eyes narrowed as he studied his uncle's face.

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said." Neji seemed taken aback as Hiashi began speaking again. "I'm sorry. What happened last night was not aimed at you. In fact, it was not intended for the majority of the cadet branch."

"Then who was it intended for?" Neji finally spoke up with a sense of anger in Hiashi's presence.

"It was intended as a message to the assailants to let them know that we do not take these matters lightly."

"Is that it?" Neji replied in a more subdued fashion.

The door suddenly opened again, forcing Neji and Hiashi's attention back to the door.

The maid walked in again. "Hiroku-kun is here for Hanabi again."

"Send him in," Hiashi answered, clearly annoyed. He turned his attention back to his nephew before Hiroku and Sumiko walked into the door. "We'll finish this in a moment." The two them turned their attention back to the door.

"Odd place to spend the day," Hiroku's voice trailed off as he and his teammate stood behind Neji.

"What do you want?" Hiashi asked with an annoyed tone.

"To see if we can get any more information from Hanabi about the attackers."

"Is that why this girl is here?"

"Yes," Hiroku answered with a nod. Sumiko stepped forward.

"My name is Tezuka Sumiko."

"I think I remember you from the chuunin exams several years ago. You did quite well," Hiashi reminisced about the exams from a few years ago before he snapped himself back to the present.

"Take them to her," Hiashi commanded the maid who stood at the door.

"Yes sir," the maid said. She stared at Hiroku and Sumiko. "This way please." Neji and Hiashi watched as they left once again.

* * *

"Come in," Hanabi permitted as she heard someone knock on the door. Sumiko and Hiroku walked into the room wordlessly as they saw the heiress in a white kimono standing in the middle of the room.

"Hiroku-san, how do you do?" Hanabi greeted.

"Hi, Hanabi-chan. I bought the person that could help with your memory block." He stepped over. "This is Tezuka Sumiko." Sumiko nodded her head as Hanabi bowed respectfully.

"Nice to meet you Sumiko-san. I hope you will be able to help me remember what could help my clan catch my attackers."

Sumiko was taken aback for a moment before she spoke again. "I'll try. Let's see if all that ANBU training can be put to work." She scanned the room and pointed to the bed. "Will you sit on your bed for a moment?"

Hanabi did as she was told and sat on her bed eagerly awaiting Sumiko's next move. Sumiko inhaled deeply as she began forming hand signs. "Here goes nothing," Sumiko said as she put her hands on Hanabi's head. "Look into my eyes," Sumiko said. Hanabi complied wordlessly.

"Now, remember what happened that day," Sumiko instructed.

Hanabi's face held a dazed look as her speech turned almost robotic. "I remember. I was training by myself after Father had done my usual training session. I wanted to impress him and get stronger. I was getting tired and decided to stop. Then I felt killing intent and turned quickly. I ran towards her and activated my Byakugan. There was a woman."

"Describe the woman," Sumiko continued.

"She had long brown hair. She wore a pink shirt and black pants. She had the forehead protector on her arm and bandages on her forehead."

"Any unique features?"

"I don't remember," Hanabi forced out.

Sumiko cocked her head to the side before applying much more chakra to the technique. "It shouldn't be this difficult to extract information like this."

"Any unique features?" Sumiko repeated.

"She had the Byakugan."

"The Byakugan!" Hiroku outburst. "So it is a Hyuuga."

"Quiet, Hiroku," Sumiko reprimanded. "What happened next, Hanabi-san?"

"We fought briefly. She closed a couple of my tenketsu, and she slashed at my arm with a kunai. Then everything went black."

"I see." Sumiko undid the jutsu and released Hanabi from her spell.

"I remember now," Hanabi realized as her eyes widened as she rubbed her forehead.

"That's good," Hiroku responded.

Hanabi stared at Sumiko. "Thank you very much, Sumiko-san. What was the technique you used?"

"You're welcome. The technique is a genjutsu learned in some circles of the ANBU and the interrogation squad. It is a technique that forcibly extracts information wanted by the user from the one touched. It's good for infiltration missions so you don't have to spend so much time finding secret entrances," Sumiko replied. Hanabi stared at Sumiko wide-eyed. Her jaw had dropped slightly as she came to grasp the information. She turned her attention to Hiroku after she regained some of her composure.

"Thank you as well, Hiroku-san."

"Sure. You should go tell your father what you remember. We'll be leaving now."

"Where are you going?" Hanabi asked. She then quickly placed a hand over her mouth as though she did something wrong.

"It's not that big a deal, Hanabi-chan. You don't have to be so uptight. Relax a little. Otherwise, you end up like Sumiko," the indigo-haired Hyuuga said.

"That's not funny," Sumiko's eyes narrowed at Hiroku's comments.

"Anyway, Sumiko and I were on the same squad when we were younger. However, since we're both jounin, it's rare that we ever have time to spend together. Especially now-a-days after the attack on the village a few years ago. So now, we usually plan to go out and spend some time with each other once a month to catch up. However, we had to take care of you briefly. Now since that's done, we can leave," Hiroku explained.

Hanabi gave them both another bow. "I'm sorry that I wasted so much of your brief time together. I know that it is really important to you two, and I'm honored that you took the time to come and check up on me and help me with my problem. I hope I wasn't too selfish."

The two jounin gave the Hyuuga heiress an odd look before responding.

"Hiroku is right. You shouldn't be so uptight," Sumiko stated. "Anyway, it was nice meeting you." They headed out the door leaving Hanabi alone.

The Hyuuga sighed and laid down on her bed again.

"Am I really that uptight?" she spoke to herself. "I only act like a proper Hyuuga woman should act, with dignity and respect at all times." She gathered her thoughts and went to go find her father. "Does that mean they are saying the whole clan is uptight."

* * *

It was dark in the streets of Konoha. The clouds covered the moon, as if trying to show a brief period of superiority. If it was, it was going unnoticed by the two ninja that inhabited Konoha's lonely back alley streets.

"That was a great movie after all," Hiroku stated as he walked beside his teammate.

"Yeah. Especially when the guy tried to fight his way through that army," Sumiko replied.

"He was doing good for a while."

"Yeah, a while. And then," Sumiko pounded her closed left fist into her open right hand.

They laughed some more as they past by the old training grounds. "Remember when we took our genin exam here?" Hiroku asked.

"Yeah," Sumiko responded as she tucked a loose bang behind her ear. She remembered that her sensei made their group fight each other in one on one matches as a way of graduating to become genin. "I'll never forget fighting you that first time... and winning."

"Figures you'd bring _that _part up, even after it's been six years. If I remember correctly, you lost to Kasumi." Kasumi was the third member of their team. She was an eccentric girl that was almost always upbeat. She used to clash with Sumiko all the time.

"I should have seen that retort coming," Sumiko sighed. "It would be nice when the three of us can finally get back together again."

"Yeah. It's been a little over two years since we've seen her." Hiroku glanced over at his teammate. They began to remember that Kasumi had been assigned on an incredibly long string of negotiation missions among ninjaless villages. She agreed to the mission and said that she would take the time to travel the world and get stronger. An odd thing to do, but at least she was doing a mission. Kasumi would send carrier pidgeons that held a note and the Leaf Village's share of the profits after she completed a negotiation between the two groups.

"Maybe we should kick down sensei's door and see how he reacts," Hiroku suggested.

"No, he went on a mission yesterday."

"Oh." Hiroku's disappointment was evident in his tone.

"Yeah, negotiating mission."

"Another one?"

Sumiko nodded as they passed the memory filled training ground. "I don't know all the details though." Hiroku's and Sumiko's sensei was a man name Shibata Taisuke. He was known as one of the best negotiators in the Leaf Village. He would often be sent on negotiating missions around the world, dragging his student's along for the ride. His students had become very adept in negotiations. Of course, he taught them techniques as well. Taisuke prided himself on his versatility, especially in ninjutsu and taught his students the same amount of versatility. Both of them had the impression that Taisuke was one of the better ninjas in the village. Whether or not that was actually proven is an entirely different matter. What was for sure was that he was among the most versatile.

Hiroku and Sumiko continued to walk down the empty streets of Konoha without another word as they both began thinking of the good times they had with each other and their teammates. After a few minutes of walking, they finally stopped.

"I wonder why they keep following us?" Sumiko whispered just loud enough that only Hiroku heard.

"Don't know." He turned around quickly. "Come out! This is starting to get annoying."

The two jounin turned around to see a group of four clad in black and wearing ANBU masks. One with a bat, alligator, otter, and tiger respectively. It appeared to be three men and one women.

"Why are ANBU here? We committed no crime," Sumiko said, her voice rising steadily with each word as she took a step forward.

"Tezuka Sumiko of Team 4. Age 17. Jounin and ANBU lieutenant, and Hyuuga Hiroku of Team 4. Age 17. Jounin and medic-nin, correct," the female in the otter mask spoke.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Hiroku replied. "What do you want?"

"Where is Yatsuga Kasumi?" the female spoke again.

"That's none of your concern. What do you want?" Sumiko retorted.

"What we want is for your cooperation," the male with the tiger mask said, jumping down from the tree branch where he used to stand. His comrades soon joined him.

"Cooperation?" the Hyuuga repeated.

"Yes. You already understand the situation with the Hyuuga clan," the bat spoke. "And so we would like to know if you would help us create a new regime if you will."

"A new regime?" Sumiko stared at the men awkwardly. "What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is that we plan on overthrowing the current hierarchy of the Hyuuga clan and replacing it with our own," the female spoke.

"A new hierarchy? Why?" Hiroku asked.

"We are tired of what the main branch has put us through. We understand that the main branch has become deluded with greed and power. This problem needs to be corrected as quickly and efficiently as possible. This is where you two come in. We need a negotiator to help others join our cause and to have anyone close to the hierarchy to agree to any terms we set when we subdue our enemies that is the main branch," the alligator masked man spoke.

"It seems really far-fetched that anyone would overthrow the current Hyuuga hierarchy," Hiroku said. "What makes you think you can when you can't even get past the curse seal?"

"Where did you get the idea that we can't?" the alligator masked man asked. Hiroku's eyes widened at his answer. His interest was piqued. He took another step and stood beside Sumiko again.

"I would think you of all people would jump at this opportunity especially because of the way the main branch treated you. They kicked you out because of what you didn't get. Even when you gained it, they kept you out. They turned your sister against you. They only refer to you or your mother with shame. And after all that, knowing what they did, they call you back to heal the clan leader's daughter and threaten to kill you with the seal if you decided against it. Tell me if I'm wrong," the alligator masked man said.

Sumiko stared at the distraught look on her teammate. "Hiroku..."

Hiroku stared at the black-clad shinobi in front of him. "I-I..."

* * *

Well, there goes chapter four. Finally, it's completed. Another member is added to the rebels in the form of Hyuuga Hiryuu. To tell you the truth, much of this character is spur of the moment and nothing more. I needed a character and there he is. I've finally settled on Hanabi's personality. Rather than explain it, I'll let my writing do the talking. Right now though, I'm in the process of fleshing out all the rebel characters. I'm trying to make them all be interesting. Hopefully, the fight scene was well liked. I haven't done one in a while, so I'm a tad bit rusty. I think it turned out decent. Also, thanks to the Naruto Anti-Writer's Block Party for their help with coming up with the masks for the rebels. Check out the forum. It has jutsus, bloodlines, and creative games to help improve your story. There is a link to the forum in my profile. Well, please review. I really want to know where to improve the story. I do value your opinions. Until next chapter.


	5. Decision

Here are the review responses.

Hawkman63: Thanks for the review. Yeah, the poem was a tad bit cheezy, but it could have been worse.

Without Fear: So you went full fledged rebel, huh. I'm glad you find Hiroku and interesting character. I hope I can make each rebel interesting as well. I will admit though, it's rather hard.

Noname: Don't know who you are, but thanks so much for the reviews. I'm glad that you enjoyed the story.

To all those who read this and didn't review, who favored the story, who alerted the story, or who added it to a C2, thank you so much and I hope you continue reading and enjoying the story. The story now has over 1,000 hits thanks to you. Now onto chapter 5, Decision.

* * *

To remind everyone of who is wearing which mask, there is a brief guide.

Harumi: otter

Fumio: tiger

Hajime: alligator

Hiryuu: bat

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 5: Decision

"I-I," Hiroku repeated once more as he stared at the dirt road beneath his feet. He couldn't deny the truth of their words, but... He stared at his teammate. The look of concern was evident on her face.

"You don't have to answer right now," the alligator masked man spoke. "We'll give you a couple of days."

"No," Hiroku firmly stood his ground as he put a protective hand in front of Sumiko.

"So you've made your decision?" the bat masked man asked. "If you're with us, leave the girl and let's go."

"Not so fast," Hiroku replied. "This new regime... how do you plan to accomplish it?"

"How else," the alligator began. "by wiping out the old one. The main family of the Hyuuga must die."

"I see," Hiroku's eyes narrowed slightly as his questioning continued. "Hypothetically, if this new regime were to come to fruition, what would change? What would make it so much better than Hiashi's rule?"

"Informal I see," the bat noticed. "You don't have nowhere near the amount of devotion as I thought." Hiroku scoffed at the remark.

"You have _no_ idea."

"Oh but we do," the alligator spoke up again. "We know more than you think. Hyuuga Hiroku, son of Hyuuga Hitomi and Shiro Sousuke."

"So you know my father's name. Big deal."

"So you wish for me to continue? Very well. Your father was also a-"

"Where are you going with telling us about his history? Answer the question!" Sumiko outburst.

The alligator frowned beneath his mask. "To answer the given question, for starters: there would be no main branch and cadet branch. We would be united as one clan. There would be no curse seal. There would be no malice. Nothing but peace. The way things are run will not change with the current regime. Hiashi is raising his daughter to be a cold and harsh leader like him." His voice seemed to hold more hate with each careful word. "All the techniques would be able to be learned by _all_ Hyuuga, not just the main branch."

Hiroku contemplated Hajime's words as he lowered his hand from in front of Sumiko. He looked at the ground once again only to look up shortly after, a snide grin on his face. "Who would be the leader?"

Hiroku slightly grimaced as a kunai went whizzing past his face, cutting his cheek. Blood began flowing shortly after, letting gravity began its due work. He stared at the man who threw the kunai.

"Stop screwing around with us," the bat masked man warned, brandishing another kunai. "Answer the damn question."

Hiroku formed a few hand signs and healed the cut easily. The Hyuuga stared at his teammate then looked ahead.

"No."

"What?" the masked group replied.

"No," he repeated. To join your group would label me a traitor to Konoha. I couldn't care less if I became a traitor to the Hyuuga clan."

The otter masked girl stepped forward. "Then why don't you join us?"

"My Mother would have to kill me, and I really enjoy living. Also," Hiroku reached over and pulled Sumiko into a one-armed hug. "I would have to betray my closest friend, and that is not happening." He released the somewhat surprised Sumiko from his grasp as he formed a closed right fist. He slammed his fist into his open hand and pulled out a green broadsword from his palm. "So, I'm going to decline joining your little group."

The four masked ninja stared at sword in amazement. "You are all under arrest under suspicion of treason. Come quietly or this will get ugly," Sumiko demanded.

"So it comes to this," the alligator masked man said. "You were just trying to get as much information out of us as you could then decline in the end. A true negotiator indeed." He looked at the bat masked man. "Hiryuu, for once you've done something useful. Throwing that kunai just made things get straight to the point."

"Shut up!" Hiryuu responded as he tossed the kunai at Sumiko. Sumiko sidestepped the kunai easily.

"Then we settle this in combat," Sumiko said. She began forming hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" She exhaled the fireball right in the middle of the group. All of them dodged the attack easily as the first strands of combat were drawn.

"Byakugan!" the masked group yelled simultaneously as they charged at the battle hardened duo.

"Sumiko, duck!" Hiroku ordered as he spun his sword around. Sumiko complied as Hiroku gathered chakra. "Wind Style: Wind Blade!" The sword-wielder spun in a full circle, sending out a chakra filled circular blade. The group changed tactics, dodging the blow in their own way.

"Missed," Hiroku muttered as Sumiko stood upright once more.

"But I won't," she remarked before she sent out ten wires from her gauntlets, each catching an individual's limb.

"What?" the tiger yelled, obviously confused at the odd pulling sensation from his arm. He then began thinking logically, tracing what appeared to be a chakra reinforced steel wire. "Steel Wire!" he yelled once more.

"I see that," Hiryuu exclaimed as he tried to gain ground against the wires wrapped around his leg. He attempted to cut it with a kunai only to find out the unfortunate fact that the wire would not be cut.

"Calm down," the otter said forming hand signs. "Fire Style: Dragonflame Jutsu!" The fire attack was aimed directly at the wires, flowing all the way backwards to its wielder.

"Hiroku!" Sumiko called. Hiroku dashed quickly, placing chakra into his sword and slashing at the wires, cutting them in two.

"I see now," Fumio exclaimed as slashed at the wire with a Jyuuken powered slash. "The wire can be cut if there is more chakra on the cutting utensil then in the wire itself."

"Good deduction," Sumiko retorted before slamming the other three comrades into nearby trees. "Now as for you," she said forming hand signs. She never finished the signs as a fist came flying into her stomach, sending her backwards. Fumio stood upright clutching his fist only to take a foot to the face by Hiroku throwing him backwards, but quickly recovered as he stood in a basic Jyuuken stance. Hiroku, Byakugan still unactivated, charged at the man with a hidden fierceness. He jumped in the air quickly in an attempt to land a kick. Fumio blocked the kick, effortlessly casting it to the side. Hiroku landed on his hands and attempted another kick at Fumio's head. This time the kick came closer. Fumio stepped backwards and extended to fingers at Hiroku's open torso, only to hit an afterimage. He looked up in the sky at the body that seemed to shine in the moonlight.

"Wind Style: Wind Blade!" The blade of wind came crashing down to the earth as Fumio stared in utter annoyance. He grunted as he felt wires wrap around his body.

"What?" He glared at the red haired girl with a large smirk on her face. The tiger quickly glared back up at the sky as the blade was coming downwards faster now.

"Eight Trigrams: Exert!" Fumio watched as Hajime stood in front of him, releasing a wall of chakra from in front of his body. The attacks met, nulling each other out. Sumiko released the wires quickly as Harumi released another Dragonflame technique, wrapping the wires around Hiroku and pulling him away from the attack's radius. He landed on the ground lithely as he stared at their four opponents as they gathered together again.

"Okay, these guys are not pushovers. The one in the alligator mask is at least jounin level," Hiroku observed.

"Don't you think it would be a good time to activate your Byakugan?" Sumiko muttered.

"No." Hiroku then used the body flicker to stand in front of the rebels.

"So fast," Hiryuu said before receiving an ax kick to the shoulder. He grunted as Hiroku landed backwards on his hands and, while flipping over, delivered a jarring kick to the jaw, sending him in the air. Fumio attempted another punch as Hiroku finished the kick.

The masked Hyuuga let out a gasp as Hiroku caught his fist between his legs and, with putting chakra to his legs, casually threw him towards his teammate.

Sumiko formed the tiger hand sign and extended her two right fingers. "Fire Style: Flare Shot!" A small fireball hit the Hyuuga on the shoulder, throwing him to the ground with a grunt.

"This is ridiculous," Hajime said, landing a kick to Hiroku's face, knocking him into the air. He recovered quickly, landing on a tree branch.

"This sword is only getting in the way," he said as he placed the blade in his open palm. The blade disappeared again as quickly as it appeared. The Hyuuga took a deep breath as he stood upright, resting his right hand on the tree.

"Now I can use both hands!" He flickered once again, delivering a kick to the otter masked Hyuuga.

"So you like kicks, huh?" Hajime retorted as he launched a Jyuuken strike at Hiroku. Hiroku bent his body, avoiding the strike with ease and balanced himself on Hajime's outstretched arm with his right arm. His upside-down body moved slightly as Hajime tried to gain complete control over his own body.

"Yep. If you did your research correctly, you would know that the Jyuuken is not my preferred taijiutsu style, but the style I learned from my father." The Hyuuga spun around on the arm like a gymnast's bar, attempting a kick to Hajime's ribs. Hajime caught the kick in the palm of his other hand as Hiroku placed his hands on the ground and brought his entire body close to the ground. Hajime jumped in the air as Hiroku performed a sweeping kick then blocked once more as his opponent spun his body around to deliver a kick to the stomach. The force of the kick sent him flying backwards, leaving Hajime to attempt to regain his footing. Hiroku pushed himself off his hands and landed on his feet again.

* * *

Sumiko lowered her head and let a Jyuuken strike sail over her. She pushed her body backwards as the otter girl exhaled another fire attack. The red head was clearly in trouble. She was not a specialist in close combat, nor did she want to be up against three Hyuuga while her teammate only dealt with the apparent leader. The redhead performed a few hand signs as the Hyuuga in the tiger mask charged at her.

"Earth Style: Earth Pillar!" The giant mass of earth arose from the ground as the Hyuuga charged. He dodged the attack fairly easily as a giant grin appeared on his face beneath the mask. Sumiko glanced out the corner of her eye to see another masked shinobi strike her on the left shoulder. The jounin was sent tumbling backwards. She regained her footing quickly, albeit, clutching her left shoulder.

Hiryuu laughed maniacally as he charged towards the girl with Fumio close behind him, both extending palms at her heart. Both palms hit at the exact same time, forcing Sumiko to cough blood involuntarily. Before Sumiko hit the ground, her body exploded, catching the two men in the blast. Harumi gazed upon the giant blast.

"A Shadow Clone Explosion technique! This girl is amazing!" Harumi stated in awe.

* * *

Hiroku let a grunt escape his lips as Hajime delivered strike after strike. He was letting his true speed show, and it was hard for the medic-nin to simply keep up. Hiroku jumped backwards and let chakra envelope his body as Hajime charged at him.

"Eight Trigrams: Explosion!" Hiroku yelled, releasing chakra all around his body in the shape of a dome. Hajime pulled back in time, avoiding the worst of the attack. Hiroku began forming hand signs again.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Hiroku placed a hand to his face and blew a large gust of wind at the opponent.

Hajime grunted as he jumped away from the blast. 'Does he ever run out of ninjutsu!' he commented as he saw Hiroku forming more hand signs.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Hiroku repeated, firing the attack in mid air. Hajime clasped his hands together tightly as chakra covered the front of his body.

"Eight Trigrams: Exert!" The large stream of blue chakra was released from the front of Hajime, pushing the wind backwards with Hiroku along with it. The jounin went flying into the woods, away from normal sight.

Hajime landed on the ground near Harumi. "The others?"

"You can see that they are coming out of the explosion now," Harumi replied, pointing to the crater left in the middle of the road. Two bodies slowly pulled themselves out and walked towards their comrades.

"You can't go around taking that girl lightly. She'll kill you," Hajime warned.

Hiryuu spat some leftover blood out of his mouth. "Thanks for telling me now."

* * *

"Okay, these guys are really tough," Hiroku repeated once again. The two jounin stood behind multiple trees contemplating their next move.

"Don't state the obvious. It's really starting to annoy me," Sumiko replied. "The question is what do we do now?"

"I think I have an idea."

"What?"

"A jumbo-sized combination ninjutsu!"

Sumiko stared at him wide-eyed, then put the pieces together. A smirk appeared on her face. "You understand how big the crater is going to be, right?"

"That's good. The ANBU should come faster then. I'm sure after that Shadow Clone Explosion technique that they are on their way."

"That's true."

Hiroku activated his Byakugan with a few hand signs then stood upright, his teammate following suit.

"Well, here goes," Hiroku said.

Snake. Tiger. Dog. The two jounin performed the three hand sign technique quickly. Instantly, a white orb appeared in the palm of their hand. They began jumping into the trees, each step pushing them closer to the top until they broke into the moonlight sky.

"Now, to make it bigger," Sumiko said as the two began adding more chakra into the orb, extending it's size many times the original. They placed the orbs together, creating one giant orb that seemed to cover the moon itself.

The rebels looked up at the sky with fear and awe at the giant orb being held together by the two jounin.

"Dragon's Wave!" the duo shouted as the giant orb touched the surface. It exploded on impact, making a large boom that would surely alert any nearby shinobi of the street fight.

As the dust settled, the duo stood on the outside of the crater looking in, satisfied with the resulting impact.

"I think we got them," Sumiko spoke up. Hiroku said nothing, letting the dust settle first before declaring anything.

However, before the dust could settle, a body jolted out of the crater, delivering a solid Jyuuken blow to Sumiko's stomach. The girl coughed up blood as she went tumbling to the ground. She felt someone lift her back body in the air as if she was a paper clip. Despite her hazy vision, she could make out the face of a Hyuuga. Gone was the mask that hid his face for so long. With long brown hair and a face riddled with killer intent, Sumiko could tell instantly, she was in trouble. She knew for sure when she felt Jyuuken strike after Jyuuken strike hit her body. Yet, she was still in his grasp. Still clutching for air. For life.

"Sumiko!" Hiroku yelled as he witnessed his teammate's beating. He rushed over to his ailing friend as quick as possible only to get blocked off by another Hyuuga.

"Get out of the way!" Hiroku warned as he extended a palm thrust at the still masked alligator man.

He blocked the attack easily, sidestepping the attack and delivering his own blow. Hiroku flickered away from the palm and appeared behind him, poised to strike once more. As his fingers approached Hajime's body, Hiroku felt another body crash against his side, knocking him several feet away from his target, and even further from Sumiko. He stood up quickly only to dodge another fire attack from the only female of the group.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Harumi announced as she delivered another fire jutsu at Hiroku. Hiroku retaliated with hand signs of his own. He spat as he finished the last seal.

"Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu!" The spit turned into a giant water wall, dissipating the fire attack and turning it into steam. Hiroku then formed a couple more signs.

"Water Clone Jutsu!" The wall turned into two separate Hiroku clones immediately.

"Now charge!" he demanded as the three Hiroku's ran at full speed towards the rebels.

He stopped midway as upon hearing a spine-tingling scream from the Hyuuga that appeared to have the upper hand on his teammate.

Hiryuu indeed was the one who the scream originated from. All eyes stared at him at the revelation that Hiryuu's body was covered in blue strings that seemed to get inside each of his fingernail. His grip lessened, allowing Sumiko create distance between the two. She fell on one knee as she tried to maintain control of the Chakra Strings released from her fingers. Hiroku body flickered over to his teammate effortlessly, letting the clones fall to harmless puddles of water.

"Sumiko, can you stand?" Hiroku asked, placing a comforting hand over her shoulder.

"I-I think so," Sumiko replied. Hiroku lifted her body upwards, allowing her to stand tightened her grip on the Chakra Strings in her hands, earning another grunt from Hiryuu.

"Chakra Strings used to interrupt the chakra flow to Hiryuu's fingers. Creative," Fumio analyzed as he stood beside Hajime and Harumi.

"It would appear that is the case," Hajime replied.

The group turned as they felt Sumiko's murderous intent cover them like an ever consuming fire.

"I'll make sure that you never use your hands again," Sumiko muttered so that only Hiroku and Hiryuu heard her.

She released all ten wires on her gauntlets and let them travel to his arms. Five on one, five on the other. She escaped from Hiroku's grasp as she began lifting Hiryuu's surprised and now frightened body in the air.

"She wouldn't!" Harumi said as she realized what was about to happen.

"She would," Hajime countered.

"We should go save him then," Fumio blurted out, moving a step closer to Sumiko.

"Only if you want to suffer the same fate," Hajime replied. "Look at the Hyuuga." Hiroku stood there poised to strike in case of any interference. Fumio gritted his teeth as Hiryuu let out an ear-piercing scream. He could feel his tendons becoming undone as his arms were pulled farther apart from his body. Bones began cracking as he felt his arms being pulled farther than what should be normal. Muscles pulled, tendons pulled, bones broken. He knew what was next, yet nothing could prepare him for it until it happened.

"Yes, suffer. I want you to know true pain. Does it hurt?" No answer. "Well, does it?" Still no answer. "No. Okay then. Don't worry, it'll all be over soon." It was then that it happened. The final pull.

The pooled into the sky as the two arms were finally yanked off the torso where they used to belong. There was no screaming. It hurt too much to scream. Hiryuu's body fell to the ground lifelessly as his arms fell right beside him.

Sumiko withdrew her chakra strings and her steel wires from the maimed body and leaned on Hiroku, completely spent. Her breathing was haggard, her body shaking.

'I forgot how ruthless Sumiko was in combat,' Hiroku thought.

"Let's go," Hajime said as he picked up both arms. Fumio walked over and picked up what was left of Hiryuu.

"Hajime, he's still alive!" Fumio alerted.

"He's stubborn," Hajime replied simply as he turned towards Fumio. Harumi stood there in shook. Beneath the mask, she was crying. Crying at the lost of life. Crying like she did that day several years ago.

She snapped back to reality upon feeling Hajime's hand on her shoulder.

"Let's go." With that the ninja disappeared into the moonlight. Hiroku contemplated going after them, but declined. It was better to alert the Hokage and the Hyuuga clan of ths tommorow. Instead, he waited for the ANBU to appear. He pulled the two over to a nearby tree to rest. He deactivated his Byakugan and looked to the sky.

* * *

The ANBU appeared minutes later. Having explained the situation to them, they left, searching for the group of four that got away. The only order given was to report this to the Hokage in the morning. She did need to know of any attempts to overthrow one of the most, if not the most, prestigious clans in Konoha.

"I'm not going to enjoy doing that," Hiroku said as he thought of seeing the irritable Hokage, yelling at him. "She's going to kill me."

"To kill us," Sumiko corrected. Hiroku looked at his teammate in the eyes. "I'm not going to abandon you now."

"That's true." He stood up and helped his teammate to her feet as well. The girl patted the dust out of her skirt then looked at her teammate.

"Well, this was one exciting night."

"You have an odd sense of excitment," Hiroku replied.

* * *

Well, finally, the grand fight scene that encompassed more than three-fourths of the chapter is complete. I haven't done a group fighting scene in a while so bear with me if it wasn't the greatest in the word. In my opinion, I thought it turned out well. You saw how some of the OC's fight. I hope it gives you some perspective on how they fight. It should be noted that Sumiko's gauntlets are not really true gauntlets. They are actually more like wristbands that cover the forearm. Again, thanks to the Naruto Anti-Writer's Block Party for their help with coming up with the masks for the rebels. Check out the forum. It has jutsus, bloodlines, and creative games to help improve your story. It also explains how the fighting style Hiroku uses works. There is a link to the forum in my profile. Check it out. You might find something useful there. Anyway, please review and let me know your thoughts. Let me know where to improve and what to improve. I value your opinions. Really. Until next chapter.


	6. Aftermath

Kitsune no Rai is back to the veryleast, this fic for now. Maybe after a few more chapters of this, I'll jump back onto Clipped Wings. For now, I'm writing this fic. I am so sorry that I had taken an eight month break without telling anyone. No excuses, it's time for you to enjoy. Sorry for the wait.

* * *

No Review Responses this Time. Hope it changes this chapter.

To all those who read this and didn't review, who favored the story, who alerted the story, or who added it to a C2, thank you so much and I hope you continue reading and enjoying the story. The story now has over 2,000 hits thanks to you. Now onto chapter 6, Aftermath.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 6: Aftermath

AAAAHHHHHHHH!!

"Hiryuu, calm down," was the quick rebuttal of the medic-nin, Katsu, the man who helped put this together. There in the middle of the room laid a battered and heavily bleeding Hyuuga Hiryuu. His maimed body shook violently in pain as his dislodged arms were set beside him.

"Who did this to you?" Katsu asked as he formed the hand signs for the common medic-nin technique.

"Tezuka Sumiko," Hajime replied quickly.

"Explains a lot," Katsu said as he placed his right hand on the Hyuuga's right shoulder while using the other arm to hold it in place. The one-eyed man began applying chakra to the shoulder, slowly trying to reconnect the recently severed nerves and joints together again.

"Who is this... Tezuka Sumiko?" Hotaru asked as she fingered through her waist-length hair, trying to quell the worry over her comrade.

"Tezuka Sumiko is a jounin as well as an ANBU lieutenant. She is known for her steel wires that can cut through virtually anything," Hajime explained. I've worked with her before. Shes not someone you want to take lightly.

"And yet this impetuous idiot writhing in pain cant seem to get it through his head that most jounin are stronger than him," Katsu said.

"What was that?" Hiryuu began moving his body in a fit of rage, slowly pushing himself off the ground.

"Someone, hold him down!"

Fujiko rushed over to the body and began pushing Hiryuu down.

"Get off of me," he demanded.

"Stop talking," Fujiko reprimanded. "You shoul-" Fujiko's eyes widened as she watched Katsu stab Hiryuu inside of the exposed left shoulder, earning another scream from Hiryuu as his blood splattered over Fujiko's body.

The girl fell backwards as her breathing increased. Staring at her hands in shock and disgust, Fujiko stood to her feet slowly, as if she was looking at a fearsome apparition ready to kill her. Her body shook as she let out a scream of her own and ran into the bathroom, knocking Hiroyuki and Hachio to either side of the room.

"Whats with her?" Hiroyuki asked.

"She got blood all over her," Hotaru explained.

"Blood... all over her," Hachio repeated in a much slower tone. His voice emanated worry as he turned around following the same path Fujiko just took.

"Fujiko, come out of there!" he yelled, banging on the door repeatedly.

"No! Leave me alone!" Fujiko yelled back. Hachio stood there listening to Fujiko's sobs.

Harumi squinted her eyes, further augmenting a puzzled look. "Whats with her?"

Hiroyuki sat down on the couch beside Harumi, taking a deep sigh before explaining. "She freaks out when blood is splattered on her. Its odd. She is fine with just seeing blood, but she loses it when blood is sprayed all over her."

"Why?" Harumi asked, not satisfied with the answer.

"Its none of your business!" Hachio spat out. "Butt out!"

Hiroyuki looked at Harumi. "The only people that know is Fujiko and Hachio. More than likely, you all will never know, so dont worry about it."

"But-" Harumis voice was drowned out by Hiryuu's screams again.

"This should do it," Katsu said as he finished reconnecting Hiryuu's right arm with his shoulder. "Only one more to go," Katsu mumbled as he began repeating the process.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Hiroku hated mornings. However, there was something that he hated even more.

"You never tried to get their identities during the fighting?"

Hiroku now stood in the familiar room known as the Fifth Hokages office, staring into the eyes of the chesty blonde that sat in front of him. He turned to his side to see his teammate of many years, Sumiko, stare with just as much, if not more apprehension than he.

"No," the red-head spoke up.

"We heard them call out a few names, but that was about it," Hiroku added on in an attempt to quail the rising anger of the Lady Hokage, who seemed as if she would flip over the heavy desk that stood between them and proceed to send them flying through walls with her bare fists.

"And the names were?" Tsunade asked, thumbing her finger on the desk with increasing vigor.

"I heard Fumio, Harumi, Hajime, and the one Sumiko maimed, Hiryuu."

"So, as far as you know, these four are all Hyuuga?" Tsunade questioned sitting upright now.

"Yes," Hiroku began. "Each of them utilized Gentle Fist techniques and stances to some decree, but they were on different skill levels. The one they called Hajime was easily Jounin level. The maimed one was probably mid to upper chuunin level with the other two somewhere in between."

"There are probably more of them than those four," Sumiko chimed in.

Tough questions continued to fly at Hiroku. "So, how long was it going to be before you told me of a possible rebellion inside the Hyuuga?"

"I-"

"Remember, your village comes first. We lost the Uchiha; we dont want to lose the Hyuuga as well."

"Understood."

"And so, I want you to bring Hiashi back down here from the Hyuuga compound," Tsunade said as she pulled out a scroll and started writing on it. "I understand the fact that you cannot enter the compound willingly so take this. You can read it if you want."

Tsunade folded the scroll and handed it to Hiroku. "This will get you inside the compound with no problems. _But_, if there is a problem, let me know. I'll handle it. "Tsunade stared at the blank look on his face.

"Do I have to do this?"

"Yes, now go. You're dismissed, both of you."

The two jounin walked out the Hokages office without a word and continued wordless until they safely reached the roof of the building.

"Well, that could have gone better," Hiroku admitted as he read the scroll. Sweat pulled from his face as he read the message.

"Yeah, but at least were in one piece."

"I suppose, until I tell Hiashi to come down here to Tsunade's office, and that I have to accompany him."

"That's what it said?" Sumiko replied, taking the scroll from Hiroku.

"Sucks for you!"

"Tell me about it."

* * *

Hiroyuki stood looking on the village from the top of the hotel the rebels stayed at, observing the numerous groups of people that stood before them.

"What do you want, Hajime?" Hiroyuki turned around slightly to stare at his comrade. The man had propped his body against the wall noiselessly as if to test how alert Hiroyuki truly was.

"To talk about last night."

Hiroyuki's rolled his eyes before turning all the way around. "It's safe to call it a failure. The Hokage knows about us, and we couldn't convert Hiroku to our side, nor Neji for that matter. Those are two jounin that slipped through our grasp."

"There was something odd that happened last night as well." Hiroyuki arched an eyebrow, offering a silent gesture for Hajime to continue. "While I was fighting Hiroku, he used a technique oddly reminiscent of Katsus."

Hiroyuki's eyebrows arched once again with increased interest. "What technique?"

"Remember that sword technique that was used on Hiryuu?"

Hiroyuki recounted the brutal beat down Hiryuu received from Katsu. While it paled when compared to Sumikos, it certainly was far from pretty. "Yeah, I remember."

"Hiroku used the exact same technique, albeit with the opposite hand."

"Interesting," Hiroyuki noted. "Speaking of, how is Hiryuu?"

Hajime had a puzzled look on his face before continuing. "He seems fine for now."

"That's good. We need him, even if he does act like a fool." Hajime folded his arms and clutched his fist as he thought of Hiryuu's recklessness.

"Anyway, Im taking off." Hajime said, allowing his features to relax as he turned around and reached for the doorknob.

"Where are you going?" Hiroyuki asked.

"To the compound. I am going to go see what I can find."

"Fine. Be careful. We don't need a casualty, especially considering your special skills." Hajime smirked before he walked down the stairway leaving Hiroyuki alone.

* * *

Hiashi hated many things. He hated clan meetings, he hated being sick, but he loathed having to see Hiroku with a scroll from the Hokage.

Hiashi took the scroll out of Hiroku's hands with the same stern look as always. Reading the letter carefully his facial features slowly begat more anger and annoyance. Finally, he sighed and set the scroll aside.

"I hate this just as much as you do," Hiroku said.

"Didn't I tell you not to get the Hokage involved?"

"It's rather hard to do so when you get jumped by several Hyuuga rebels trying to force you to join their cause. Sorry, but the resulting fight forced ANBU members to come to the location. My allegiance is to Tsunade, not to the Hyuuga," Hiroku replied.

"Why you-" a Hyuuga elder blurted out before Hiashi stopped him. The elder was talking to Hiashi before being interrupted by Hiroku's message. Seeing his face alone was enough to put the elder in a bad mood. Badmouthing the clan made it worse.

Hiashi stared at the attendant at the door. "Get me Neji, Hinata, Hanabi, and Hazuki."

"Yes sir," The attendant moved her legs as swiftly as she could and in a few minutes with the help of her Byakugan was able to locate all the Hyuuga that the Clan Head had required her to find.

Minutes later, the foursome stood in front of Hiashi with questioning looks. Taking the time to clear his throat, Hiashi spoke firmly.

"As you all know, there is a rebellion amongst the Hyuuga. While this is being resolved, I want you, Neji, as well as you, Hazuki, to watch Hinata and Hanabi. Neji guard Hinata. Hazuki guard Hanabi."

This is such an honor, Hiashi-sama, Hazuki said as he bowed and stood beside Hanabi. Hyuuga Hazuki certainly looked imposing. With a strong 6'3" frame, he towered over all in the room. He held his long hair down and wore all white. His clothing struck similarities with Nejis traditional style clothing. His forehead was unmarred by the curse seal, leaving Neji and Hiroku the only people in the room to have that dreaded seal.

"For now, I need to go to Hokage Tower and discuss this rebellion with her. I have no idea just how long I will be gone. Watch my daughters carefully. The future of the clan is within them."

"Yes," the two protectors responded.

"Hiroku, lets go," Hiashi ordered as he stood from his seat and walked towards the door.

"Whatever."

"Dont you dare talk to Hiashi-sama that way again, half-breed, or youll have to deal with me," Hazuki threatened.

"Half-breed?" Hanabi mumbled, puzzled as to why Hiroku was called that.

Hiroku turned around slowly to look at Hazuki.

"Dont _you_ dare talk to _me_ like that again," Hiroku responded, emitting killing intent throughout the room.

Hiashi acted quickly, forming the hand signs needed to activated the curse seal. Hiroku immediately doubled over in pain, clutching his right arm where the seal was located. He eventually moved to clutch his head shortly afterwards. Hinata let out a gasp as she covered her mouth in shock.

"Serves him right," Hazuki muttered.

"Hiroku, lets go," Hiashi commanded again as he released the seal. Hiroku wordlessly stood up and followed Hiashi. The clan head stopped beside Hazuki, never making eye contact with him.

"Your life may have just been spared."

"Nonsense, I could've taken him."

Hiashi let out a smirk before he continued to walk again with Hiroku closely behind him, healing his pounding head.

The other Hyuuga followed suit leaving the attendant alone in the office.

"Well, that was entertaining," she mumbled as she walked out of the room and down the hallway and into her quarters. She opened the unlocked door and looked inside.

"I see that Senses Jammer Jutsu is still in effect in this room," she said as she looked over a woman that looked identical to her. Forming the tiger sign, the conscious attendant took true form.

"So now the Hyuuga children have guardians," Hajime replied after releasing his disguise. "That is great information." He rubbed the cheek of the unconscious attendant.

"You certainly are useful."

* * *

Hiroyuki still stood on the roof, staring into the sun as it set. His comrades stood behind him as Hajime finished his report. The notable exception was Fujiko, who was still shaken up after last night, and Hachio who was still trying to comfort her. "Guardians, huh?"

"That's right," Hajime confirmed. "One is Hyuuga Neji; the other is a main branch member known as Hyuuga Hazuki."

"Hazuki?" Hiroyuki repeated.

Hajime nodded. Hiroyuki turned around and headed for the door.

"Where are you going, Hiroyuki?" Katsu asked, rubbing the bandage over his eye.

"Out."

Katsu shrugged his shoulders. "You can't fool me Hyuuga Hiroyuki. Go do whatever you have to do." Hiroyuki gave him a spiteful glare before he walked down the stairs.

"Where is he going?" Hiryuu asked as he flinched in slight pain. His arms were covered in bandages from the night before, but at least they were attached to him again.

"Who knows," Katsu replied as he walked in his direction. "You're in no condition to question him, bandage boy." Katsu patted him on the shoulder evoking a scream from Hiryuu.

"Calm down," Harumi chided as she rubbed his shoulders softly, removing the tension Katsu just placed on them.

"I'm gonna kill that Sumiko," Hiryuu said.

"You keep telling yourself that," Katsu said as he sat on the edge of the roof.

"Hey!" The group turned around to see Hachio standing at the door.

"'Hay' is for horses." Katsu responded. Hachio shot him an evil glare before looking at the group again. "Has anyone seen Fujiko anywhere?"

"Not since last night," Harumi replied.

"This is bad."

"Why?" Katsu asked.

"We just need to find her," Hachio replied. He jumped off the roof and landed on the ground below and into a full sprint.

"He's an enthusiastic fellow," Katsu said.

"He's a fool." Hajime jumped off the roof after him.

* * *

Hazuki looked up into the sky after a day of training. "Who does that Hiroku think he is?" He punched the tree behind him, leaving a crater in the thick bark.

"Who do you think you are?"

Hazuki stood up and looked at the man standing in front of him. He had long brown hair and wore a simple white shirt and gray pants with the Konoha forehead protector on his forehead. What caught his attention were the Byakugan eyes the man possessed.

"I'm Hyuuga Hazuki, current guardian of Hyuuga Hanabi and one of the strongest men in the Hyuuga clan. Who are you?"

"The man took a couple more steps forward. I'm a member of the Hyuuga rebels looking to overturn that cursed hierarchy of our clan." He looked around to see if Hanabi was nearby, but saw no one else but her guardian. 'She must still be at the compound.'

"Well, it looks like I'll have a vent after all," Hazuki stood and activated his Byakugan. "What's your name?" he asked as he got into a Gentle Fist stance.

The man got into a similar stance of his own. "My name is Hyuuga Hiroyuki, the son of the man you killed seven years ago."

Hazuki's eyes widened with a slightly questioning look, and in that split-second Hiroyuki charged.

* * *

Hinata's breathing was getting heavier by the second as she picked herself from off the ground and re-assumed the basic Jyuuken stance. Stopping several bugs that came flying at her with basic strikes that sent them flying on the ground, her Byakugan focused on the two tornado-like figures heading towards her.

"Fang over Fang!" Hinata acted quickly, adding chakra to her feet and pushing her body backwards, dodging the first tornado and prepared herself for the second one. Chakra began pulsing throughout the heiresss entire body as the imminent threat approached.

"I'll get you this time! Fang over Fang!" Hinata began pushing the chakra outwards before she began spinning like a top, forming a giant sphere around her as the tornado clashed head-on leaving a giant crater amongst the pile of smoke that filled the air. As the smoke cleared, one could see a clear vision of one Inuzuka Kiba standing upright with his giant dog close behind him, recovering from hitting his head on solid ground. The heiress, on the other hand, lay on the ground facing the sky in heavy breaths.

"Hinata, we can stop if you want," Kiba said as he rubbed Akamaru's fur tenderly.

"You dont have to keep doing this. You're getting stronger," the dark-haired, sunglasses wearing boy said, pushing himself off of a tree he previously was propped on.

Hinata sat up wordlessly, still trying to catch herself. The Hyuuga looked behind her to see her sensei, Kurenai, nodding to show her approval.

"You have done well for today, Hinata. Why not rest?"

"Because I need to get stronger, Kurenai-sensei. I-I want to be able to defend my clan without anyone having to worry about me." The heiress stared up at a nearby tree to see her cousin leaning against a branch watching intently.

"Is that why the punk, Neji, is here then? To watch you?" Kiba said, intent on Neji hearing. Hinata nodded.

"It's getting late, Hinata-sama," Neji finally spoke up. "We should be heading back soon."

"Okay." Hinata picked herself off the ground, knocking some of the dust off her clothes.

"Before you guys leave," Kurenai said as she walked in front of the group. "I have an announcement to make."

"What is it, Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked as Shino pushed himself off the tree and stood beside the group.

"Well, you see... Im getting married." Silence reigned over the group of a moment before the obnoxious Inuzuka finally spoke up.

"WWWWWHHHHAAAATTT?"

* * *

"Don't you ever hide anything this crucial to the village again!" Tsunade's voice seemingly rose with ever uttered word. "This is bigger than just a Hyuuga issue, this is a Konoha issue. We can't afford to have anything happening to the Hyuuga."

Hiashi and Hiroku stood there wordlessly as Tsunade's tirade came to a close.

"In the off chance that something does go wrong, and you choose not to tell me, I am appointing Hiroku as my eyes and ears of the clan, at least until this attempted coup d'état is settled."

"What?!" Hiroku outburst immediately, his eyes as big as dinner plates.

"Hiroku, you're apprehensions and hate has to be set aside for now. Konoha is bigger than you. You know that."

Hiroku's shoulders drooped. "Yes, Lady Hokage. I'll do my best."

Satisfied with Hiroku, Tsunade turned to Hiashi. "Hiroku gets clearance into the Hyuuga compound until this issue is resolved. What you do after that is your clan's concern. However, let me make one thing clear, you don't want me getting directly involved."

Hiashi stood there wordlessly, his fists clutched in annoyance at the Hokage's interference into Hyuuga affairs. However, it can't be helped now. He had more important things to worry about.

"If there are no further questions, you two are dismissed."

Hiashi continued to replay that conversation in his mind over and over again. Frustrated was an understatement. He had finally gained some time to think alone; watching Hiroku take his path hom several minutes ago. His mind, first and foremost, was on his daughters. While Hiashi would never show it on his face, he had love for his daughters. While most would call it 'tough love' taken to the extreme, it was still love nonetheless. His thoughts then dwelled to the clan. There was a certainly huge amount of animosity towards the two halves of the clan. His nephew used to be living proof. However, since the chuunin exams of three years ago, he watched his eyes soften overtime. Neji's eyes were the only one that reflected that in the branch family. Most of the time, coldness and fear were all that could be seen. Hiashi knew that he made a good choice in guardians. Hiashi shifted his thoughts to the present. He was almost at the gate now.

In the distance, he could see a body that was slumped over in an unnatural position. Hiashi activated his Byakugan and was taken aback by what he saw. There was Hazuki, limp against the wall in a pool of his own blood with a kunai embedded into his chest with a scroll at the end. Hiashi removed the scroll from the kunai and opened it. Hiashi's day of surprises continued as he read the scroll.

_"I'd get stronger 'Guardians' if I were you._

_-Death to you by Moonlight_

Hiashi took a deep breath as he continued walking into the compound, leaving the body there. In a matter of moments, an attendant was there to greet him.

"Gather up the elders. We need an emergency meeting. Get a couple of branch members to get Hazuki's body from outside the gate. Hazuki's body takes priority. Find Hanabi as well."

"Hanabi is in her room, Hiashi-sama."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I just checked before I came here."

Within half an hour, the Hyuuga elders sat in the room once more. One elder raised from his seat with the question everyone had on their minds.

"What's this about?"

Hiashi placed his hands in front of his face and breathed in deep. "Hazuki is dead. The rebels killed him." The entire room went into an uproar. Question after question was asked, yet none could hear any. The elders were in a panic.

"Calm down," Hiashi ordered. The room went silent. "This group with the signature 'Death to you by Moonlight' needs to get destroyed. It is clear that these are Gentle Fist-based attacks that he died from. Whoever they are, we can be confident in that fact. As far as we know, there are at least four people in this group. Their names are Fumio, Harumi, Hajime, and Hiryuu."

"How do you know that?"

"Last night, Hyuuga Hiroku was asked to join this group." The elders erupted into murmuring again before it quickly died off.

Another elder stood up. "He accepted, didn't he?"

Hiashi looked at him. "No, Hanzami, your grandson did not accept."

"He's not my grandson," Hanzami responded before taking his seat.

Hiashi arched an eyebrow, but decided to let the comment drop. "As I was saying, he, as well as another jounin got into a fight with the four of them. The resulting battle has made the Hokage aware of what is going on, and she has made Hiroku her personal envoy for the time being. That being said, Hanzami, send your granddaughter here."

Hanzami looked at Hiashi with a crazy look on his face before leaving the room. He returned a few minutes later with his granddaughter, Hisa. Hisa immediately bowed to Hiashi, her traditional Hyuuga robes moving delicately with her body.

"Raise your head, young one," Hiashi said as he stood up and walked toward the two main branch members.

"Here is my granddaughter, my pride and joy," Hanzami said with a look of pride in his eyes as Hisa arose to her feet.

"Hisa," Hiashi began. "I am sending you on a mission. Bring Hiroku here, this instant."

Hisa looked at Hiashi with a look of disgust for a brief moment then bowed again. "Yes, Hiashi-sama. She turned quickly and opened the door.

"Hisa, be careful," Hanzami said. Hisa nodded and closed the door behind her.

The Hyuuga Elder Counsel Room was silent as Hisa returned with Hiroku. Hiroku's eyes were half open as he yawned repeatedly upon entering the room.

"You called?" the lone branch member asked.

Hiashi arose once again. "Yes." Hiroku arched an eyebrow before yawning again. Hisa rolled her eyes before jabbing him in the stomach as hard as she could. Hiroku recoiled forward before staring at his little sister.

"Have some respect."

Hiroku stood upright again. "Hard to do that when you have so little," he mumbled inaudibly. He wasn't in the mood to have his curse seal activated again.

"Hiroku," Hiashi began again. "I have a mission for you."

"Please tell me it's not a suicide mission," Hiroku responded quickly.

'Please tell me it is,' Hisa thought.

"No, Hiroku, This is not a suicide mission. Here is the scenario. As you know, I have placed a guardian over each of my daughters." Hiroku nodded.

"The one guarding Hanabi, Hazuki, was murdered earlier today. You are to take his place."

"What?!" Hisa yelled. Hiroku cocked his head to the left side, hoping to curb Hisa's yelling, but to no avail.

"Why me?" Hiroku asked.

"Yeah! why him?" Hisa chimed in.

"Hisa, you are not strong enough to fight these rebels. Hazumi was not a weakling. He was a strong member of the family."

"What makes you think Hiroku can do better?"

"Hisa, are you questioning my authority?" Hiashi roared back.

Hisa reverted into a quiet girl again. "No sir." She lowered her head and stared at her feet in silence.

Hiashi looked at Hiroku. "I assume your jounin status was given to you partially because of your strength."

Hiroku nodded before yawning once again.

"Good. Take Hanabi to one of the secluded Hyuuga training grounds away from the Hyuuga compound for tomorrow. Hanabi is not old enough to witness the ceremonial burning of a main branch member. Don't worry about its location. Hanabi knows where to go.

"Burning?" Hiroku asked. Hiashi nodded.

"Let the members of the main branch know that there will be a ceremonial burning tomorrow at noon. Get the bonfire ready tonight. Dismissed!"

Hiroku was the first to leave the building with Hisa following close behind.

"What do you want, Hisa?"

"Just to let you know that I won't be at your funeral."

"Oh. That's fine."

"And I hate you."

"You're wasting your time and breath if that's all you have to tell me." Hiroku said as he walked out of the compound.

Hisa stood there dumbfounded for a moment. She grit her teeth tightly before searching for her grandfather once again.

* * *

Hiroku leaned against a tree quietly as Hanabi trained against a human block. She moved with the grace that was fitting of a girl her status. She let out small grunts as she moved her hands in intricate combinations that was years above her main branch peers.

"I can't believe I'm stuck doing this. I can't believe Hiashi actually thinks I won't kill her." Hiroku pulled out a kunai from his pouch and began spinning it around. He looked at the secret Hyuuga training ground that stood on the opposite side of the village. It was a quaint place, covered in some of the greenest grass Hiroku had ever seen. Across form him, as well as behind him stood several trees that provided shade from the hot sun. To the left was a medium sided house that was used for practice indoors. It was built in similar fashion to the Hyuuga compound households. To his right was a small lake that had a slight glisten from the sunlight that creeped its way through the trees. He focused on the kunai again, grabbing it and pointing it at Hanabi.

"I'd put the kunai down," Hanabi said. "There is no point in intimidating me with it. I already know that you won't throw it at me."

"Is that because your father would kill me afterwards?"

"A little bit." Hanabi struck the block again.

"Then what's the main reason?"

"You don't have any desire to kill me."

Hiroku leaned back against the tree again. "Didn't expect that answer.."

Hanabi looked at Hiroku, eyes activated.

"What, Hanabi?"

"Why does-"

Before Hanabi could finish the sentence, a kunai went darting from the trees. Hanabi jumped to the side and as she landed three more kunai were thrown at her. Hanabi's body covered in blue chakra.

"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!" she announced, spinning like a top, knocking the kunai away. Hiroku finally stood beside her. He looked down to see Hanabi sweating much heavier than before.

"I see you don't have complete control over how much chakra you exert from Palm Rotation, yet," Hiroku placed a defensive hand in front of her and unsheathed his shuriken.

"Show yourself!" Hiroku yelled pointing the blade at the nearby group of trees. The two watched as a young woman appeared out of the trees.

"Hello, my name is Fujiko," the woman replied. She stared at the blade a moment, activating her Byakugan with an inquisitive look as if she was a little kid again. "Such an odd weapon you have. The blade has several hidden blades underneath of different sizes. It also has.... it's own chakra supply?"

Hiroku and Hanabi looked at the woman. She had long brown hair that went to the small of her back. She was wearing a pink shirt that had one long sleeve on the left side and black shorts. She wore her forehead protector on her bare right arm. But the feature that stood out the most was that she was covered in blood.

Hiroku lowered the weapon and looked at it himself, noticing that the gray weapon caught Hanabi's activated Byakugan's attention as well. "I suppose it is an odd blade. It has synthetic chakra coils inside that can absorb and release chakra."

"Synthetic chakra coils? How?"

"I don't know. I didn't build the weapon, and either way, that's a secret."

Fujiko let out a low groan and clutched her fist.

"So you are one of the members of this rebellion going around," Hiroku stated in a matter-of-fact tone. After all, you have to be a rebel if you are attempting to kill the Hyuuga heir. Fujiko stood there wordlessly.

Hiroku arched an annoyed eyebrow as he gently pushed Hanabi farther back. "Not much of a talker now that we aren't talking about my blade, are you?"

"I'd rather not talk to those of the branch family that refuse to join our cause out of fear, or in your case, loyalty," Fujiko hissed.

"Anger management is definitely needed for you," Hiroku retorted, grasping his shuriken tighter. Fujiko let out a disgruntled groan before she disappeared and reappeared directly in front of Hiroku, kunai positioned for stabbing. Metal hit metal as the center of Hiroku's closed shuriken more the attack of the kunai. 'She's fast,' he thought as his right hand shook from the increased pressure.

Hiroku placed his left hand on the back of the blade for reinforcement as his eyes met his opponent's activated ones. "What's this 'loyalty' that you're going on about?"

"You stand beside the main branch even as they torture your family. You, you're one of the most disgusting branch members of them all." Fujiko finished her tirade by spitting on Hiroku before leaping back several feet.

Hiroku closed his eyes as he wiped the spit off the side of his face. "Hanabi, I'd move back some if I were you. I'm not giving her the option to come quietly."

"Not like I would take it anyway."

Hiroku sighed as Hanabi wordlessly stepped backwards from the soon to be battleground. Hiroku formed a few hand signs as Fujiko readied herself for battle. Hiroku inhaled deeply before placing his hand to his face and exerting a deep gust of wind. Fujiko jumped into the air quickly, avoiding the attack easily, then tossed the sole kunai in her hand at Hiroku. Hiroku grabbed the shuriken beside him and darted to the side. Fujiko landed on the ground nimbly and stared at Hiroku briefly before using her speed to close the gap.

"Try this!" she yelled as she extended a palm towards Hiroku. Hiroku pulled the blade in front of his body on to, a split-second later, block another blow towards the head. The kunoichi continued her barrage, using her hands with grace as strike after strike met cold steel. Hiroku could find little opening to expose, and in the millisecond it took to look harder, the kunoichi found an opening of her own. She extended a palm towards her opponent's chest, but felt nothing but air.

"Body Flicker," she mumbled, letting her Byakugan roam the field. She looked up above to see Hiroku forming hand signs.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Fujiko leapt backwards again as Hiroku landed directly between her and Hanabi.

"I noticed the chakra in that blade of yours is cut off at certain points," Fujiko said aloud, pointing her index finger at the blade that now rested in the catch on Hiroku's back. Hiroku activated his Byakugan and stared at Fujiko.

"So it appears."

Fujiko watched Hiroku's body disappear once again using the body flicker technique and appeared directly in front of her. Fujiko sidestepped a finger aimed at the right arm and extended a palm at Hiroku's head. The two continued their dance, each ducking and weaving between hands and trying to land the one attack needed to take advantage of this fight. Hanabi looked onwards at the battle silently from a spot she found under a nearby tree, Byakugan activated.

Her eyes widened as she saw Fujiko's right palm hit Hiroku's chest, causing him to immediately cough up blood.

Fujiko finally let a smirk show on her face. "Looks like you need another guardian."

Hiroku stood there flabbergasted, staring at the hand that touched his chest before his body began to evaporate into a compressed state.

"Oh, no!" Fujiko yelled before she was thrown backwards by the resulting gust of wind. She picked herself off the ground slowly in an attempt to regain her composure. Her body was covered in small cuts, but otherwise, she appeared fine. "I should have realized he would try a Wind Clone Jutsu. All he has used up to this point are wind-based attacks." That split-second window of thought was when she saw Hiroku appear in front of her, right hand covered in blue chakra raised high in the air.

"Chakra Scalpel!" he yelled as he brought his hand down in a slicing motion toward Fujiko's chest. Fujiko gathered chakra to her right hand and blocked the attack with a light blue chakra between each of her fingers. Hiroku watched in awe as the chakra turned into four solid knives between each of her fingers. Fujiko formed the chakra in her left hand as well, forming four more knives.

"Chakra Knives!" Fujiko threw the knives in her left hand into Hiroku's torso, following by the ones in her right hand. Hiroku staggered backwards from the blow, allowing Fujiko to charge forward and deliver a chakra enforced kick to Hiroku's chest, knocking him several feet into the pond beside Hanabi.

"Well, that's one less problem to worry about."

Fujiko began her approach towards Hanabi, who upon seeing Hiroku go flying into the lake behind her, assumed a battle stance. Sweat covered her face as she took deep, calming breaths as Fujiko began taking steps towards her.

She didn't take many.

The kunoichi's attention turned to the lake as she saw multiples of Hiroku appear out of the lake.

"Water Clones? I already know which one is the real one." Fujiko said as she formed her knives again. With perfect aim, she hit every clone, leaving the real one alone with one knife left. "This one is for you." Hiroku manipulated his body in an awkward way, avoiding the knife and landed in front of Fujiko.

"Eight Trigrams: Explosion!" Hiroku's body became covered in blue before chakra erupted from his body in ever direction, ultimately knocking Fujiko backwards. Fujiko lifted her head up from the ground slowly to see Hiroku begin to heal his knife wounds. Even though the knives evaporated shortly after impact, it can still cause bleeding. In the time it took Hiroku to nurse his wounds, Fujiko managed to get off the ground and into a battle stance again.

Hiroku looked at Fujiko and resumed a battle stance as well. The two charged at each other again as Hanabi looked onwards.

"I feel so useless."

* * *

After a long hiatus from writing, I'm back. Again, sorry about the wait to all those who still care about this fic. Forgive me if I'm a little rusty, half the chapter was written literally seven months ago. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. Hopefully, the fight scenes and the story overall will improve. The chapters will probably go back to being shorter again. This was just over 6,000 words. My goal for this fic was about 3,000 to 5,000 words per chapter, but that's just a number. Just bear with me. Again, thanks to the Naruto Anti-Writer's Block Party for their help. Check out the forum. It has jutsus, bloodlines, and creative games to help improve your story. There is a link to the forum in my profile. Check it out. You might find something useful there. Anyway, please review and let me know your thoughts. Let me know where to improve and what to improve. I value your opinions. Really! Seriously, review. It's nice to favor or alert it. Really it is and I appreciate it, but I prefer a review. Let's me know someone cares. Until next chapter.


	7. Activity

Wow, I haven't done one of these in a while. Here are the review responses. All 1 of them. Keep them coming.

Brandon: Thanks for the review. I really do plan on fleshing the rebels out in future chapters and explaining their motives. Hirokyuki's basic vandetta is solved, but not all of it. It's deeper than that. All of the rebels are there with different reasons and personalities, it's just I haven't heavily incorporated them into the story yet. That will change in a few chapters. Right now, I'm setting the good guys up. Hiroku is a major part, along with Hanabi, so the beginning is focusing on them a bit more than Neji and Hinata. Thanks for the comments on the fight scenes and my characterization of Hanabi. One of the goals in this fic was to portray her in an entirely different light than a lot of other fics do. I'm glad that is being accomplished.

To all those who read this and didn't review, who favored the story(My Sweet Sacrifice and 629Spike; If you're reading this thank you.), who alerted the story, or who added it to a C2, thank you so much and I hope you continue reading and enjoying the story and leave your comments. Now onto chapter 7, Activity.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 7: Activity

"This is ridiculous," Hiroku mumbled, dodging another palm thrust by his foe. He could feel Fujiko's movements become quicker as the battle wore on with each strike coming in seemingly faster and more precise than the one before it. The situation was turning against him quickly. Fujiko seemed to notice it as well, becoming more offensive until she found a small opening and took advantage, thrusting her palm into Hiroku's right shoulder, sending him tumbling backwards several feet.

A small smirk was on Fujiko's face as she reformed her chakra knives. "Goodbye," she uttered as she threw the knives with expert accuracy. To Hiroku, the knives moved in slow motion as he tried to force his body to dodge what would be certain doom.

"Palm Rotation!" The knives scattered as it encountered the blue wall of spinning chakra before dissipating. Fujiko watched with a hint of annoyance as Hanabi stood in front of Hiroku.

"It is me you are after, correct?" Hanabi resumed her Gentle Fist stance as Fujiko took a step closer, her smirk turned into a sadistic grin.

"Of course you are." Hanabi could feel a cold sweat overcome her body as the young woman slowly approached her with homicidal intentions. In what felt like a blink of an eye, Hanabi was blocking blows from Fujiko. Each strike was knocked down with the gracefulness that Hanabi had shown during her training practices. The few times Hanabi took offensive was met with just as much resistance, albeit with a rougher finish that showed the subtle differences between the main and branch families.

"You're pretty decent," Fujiko said, leaping away from Hanabi's range before reappearing in front of her once again. Hanabi let out a gasp as she felt the right side of her face clash with Fujiko's foot, sending her flying backwards. Hanabi closed her eyes tightly while bracing herself for hitting the ground. Her surprise was evident as she felt her body land on something soft. She opened her eyes slowly, looking up at the face of her guardian.

"You okay?" Hiroku asked. Hanabi didn't need her Byakugan to know that his concern for her wasn't genuine.

'I guess this is just a mission to him,' Hanabi reasoned. She snapped back to reality upon Hiroku asking the question again, instantly noticing that his Byakugan was active for the first time all day.

"I'm fine. Thank you." Hiroku lifted Hanabi to her feet before turning his attention back to the woman in front of him.

"Alright, let's wrap this up. I have better things to do than stay here and fight you all day."

"Really, now?" Fujiko gave him an annoyed look as she reformed her knives.

"Hanabi-chan, stand back." Hiroku took a couple of steps forward before forming the Chakra Scalpel in his right hand. "Enough games," Hiroku said as he charged at full speed. Fujiko threw the knives quickly, trying to slow him down. Hiroku leapt into the air, avoiding the knives easily before landing in front of Fujiko. She watched as chakra surrounded his entire body.

"Eight Trigrams: Explosion!" Fujiko flew several feet backwards from the chakra burst, however she quickly regained her balance and stood up straight in time to dodge the wild slashing motion of Hiroku's Chakra Scalpel. Fujiko gathered chakra into her leg and delivered a sweeping kick to Hiroku's rib cage, sending him flying through the front door of the lone house that stood on the training site. The Hyuuga woman let a smirk cross her face as she heard the sickening crack of ribs before looking to see Hiroku leaning against the wall inside the building, his chakra covered hand on his chest.

"I'm not letting you heal again." She sped towards the entrance quickly focusing energy to her right palm. Hiroku sidestepped to his right and began running down the hallway and turned the corner.

"Get back here!" Fujiko yelled, as she chased after him. As she turned the corner, her first reaction was to block Hiroku's kick to her head. Thanking her bloodline abilities, she pushed him backwards before launching another palm thrust. Hiroku threw his body against the narrow hallway, avoiding the blow entirely. He pushed himself off just a fast, forcing a chakra-filled punch forward. Fujiko jumped backwards and stared in awe at the crater that Hiroku's punch left. Hiroku took that moment to spin his body around to deliver a jarring roundhouse kick to Fujiko. Fujiko put her arms up to guard the attack, but was pushed backwards against the wall behind her. Before her mind could piece together what happened, her Byakugan caught Hiroku bouncing off the two walls of the hallway back and forth and delivering another kick, sending her flying out the building and leaving another crater on the exterior. Fukijo pulled herself to her feet, moaning in pain. She coughed a little blood as she reformed her Gentle Fist stance.

Hiroku appeared in front of her in what felt like milliseconds, she sidestepped his palm thrust and took a couple of steps backwards. Like a machine, Hiroku turned his body and continued his onslaught. He refused to let this opportunity slip.

'I know I broke some of her ribs; she should be having some difficulty breathing. I can see it. This ends now.' Hiroku began pushing himself harder now. Fujiko was clearly on the defensive; it would soon be a matter of time before Hiroku landed an attack. Fujiko could feel it too. Her breathing was getting heavier by the second, and her movements were slowing. It all came full circle as she felt her body hit the ground from a palm to the chest. She watched as her coughed up blood landed on Hiroku's arm before he pushed her backwards. She watched him form hand signs and form chakra into a small round white ball of energy. She watched as Hiroku caught her limp arm and shoved the ball into her stomach.

"Dragon's Wave!" he yelled. Fujiko dropped into him instantly, unconscious.

Hanabi stared at him wide-eyed as he turned around. "You're not going to kill her?"

"No, not yet. I'm sure that the Council would like a word with her before that happens. Hopefully, she'll lead us to where her companions are." He looked at a visibly shaken up Hanabi with an analytical glare. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine."

Hiroku gave another deep look again. He could see Hanabi trying futilely to stop her rapidly shaking body from moving. Like it or not, this was her first life or death situation. In her mind, the ambush on her earlier didn't count. This time she was wary, yet, still couldn't manage much against a girl who apparently doesn't know any of the advanced Hyuuga techniques.

"Hate to say it, Hanabi, but you will have to get used to this…. Quickly." Hanabi's mind snapped back to reality again as she watched the medic-nin shift his weight more to lift the unconscious woman over his shoulder. Luckily, she wasn't that heavy. He looked at the building once more before de-activating his Byakugan. He looked over to see Hanabi do the same.

"That's definitely coming out of my paycheck," he mumbled.

* * *

"Hiashi-sama, Hiroku-san is here to see you. He says it's urgent." Hiashi looked up at the female attendant at the entrance of his room. She seemed taken aback at his disheveled appearance. He obviously hasn't gotten much sleep lately.

"What could it be now?" The attendant shrugged. "Send him in," he grudgingly said. The attendant wordlessly took her leave.

"He better not tell me Hanabi is dead. Otherwise, he's dead." Hiashi dismissed the negative thought as quickly as it came in time to see the door move.

"Don't worry, she's alive." Hiashi looked up to see the attendant, Hiroku and Hanabi at the doorway with a young woman covered in blood over his shoulder those arms and legs were tied with rope. Hiroku tossed her on the floor with a thud. A pain-filled gasp escaped her lips before Hiroku pulled her by the hair to force her to look at the Hyuuga leader. The gasp turned into a scream of pain before she turned to spit more blood on Hiroku.

"Traitor!"

"Call me whatever you want. I doubt you'd understand my logic."

"Hiroku, who is this woman?"

"This woman is one of the conspirators against the Hyuuga," Hiroku said. "If I had to guess, she is mid-upper chuunin level, maybe low jounin level on a good day." He believed he caught her on a bad day. After all, she was covered in blood before they met. No telling whose it was. He really didn't take much time to look if it was self inflicted or if she had killed someone before finding her.

Hiashi immediately activated his Byakugan and formed the dreaded hand sign that haunts all branch members. The attendant and Hiroku immediately dropped to the floor in pain. Hanabi dropped to the ground, shaking Hiroku in a futile attempt to comfort him. Fujiko stood on her knees with defiance in her eyes. Hiashi increased the frequency with obvious frustration, only to hear the other branch member's cries of mercy. Hanabi watched with wide eyes as the veins on Hiroku's head increase to inhuman size to the point of appearing that they would burst at any second.

Hiashi looked over to Hiroku and released the seal quickly. Hiroku turned over and began throwing up on the floor. Hanabi began shaking him again to try to get some response from him, but to no avail.

"You're wasting your time. All that's going to happen is that you will lose another guardian. If I were you, I would just kill him now. You might as well. After that, you might just have sent another member to our cause. Soon, the curse seal won't work on him either. Then, you'll really be screwed." Hiashi gave a cool look that was completely opposite of his appearance a minute ago.

"Who are you with?"

"Why would I tell you that?" Fujiko gave him a snide look before spitting at Hiashi. "Enjoy your last moments of despair. You'll be dead soon. I'll make sure that you watch as we kill your daughters."

Hiashi raised an irritated eyebrow. "What is your name?"

"Hyuuga Fujiko."

"Well, Fujiko. We'll see how long that smirk stays on your face after we get through with you."

"You'll have to get me out of this room first."

Hiashi looked up and looked at the room. Hiroku was still on the ground in pain with Hanabi looming over him. The attendant was crawling for the door in agony. Finally reaching the handle, she used the remainder of her strength to open the door. Hiashi watched her fall to the floor again only to drag her body out of the room in a painfully slow fashion. She desperately wanted to get away before he got anymore homicidal ideas.

Hiashi followed the woman out, going into the opposite direction. The attendant watched as Hiashi turned the corner and left. The woman picked herself up with unexpected strength and ran as far away as she could. She refused to stop until she was out of the compound.

"That was close. It's pretty difficult to fake that for so long." The attendant formed a tiger hand sign and undid the jutsu. Hajime shook his head. "That jutsu is so chakra consuming." Hajime continued walking down the street.

"Fujiko, you fool. You've forced our hand. However, I think we can turn this into a benefit."

* * *

"Hiroku, are you okay?" Hanabi asked. Hiroku turned over once more. He still couldn't pick himself off the office floor.

"No."

Both eyes turned toward the door as Hiashi returned with two male main branch members. "Take her to the chamber. We'll deal with her after the ceremony." The two members swiftly picked her up and as fast as they came, they were gone. Hiashi stared at his daughter and her guardian.

"Pick yourself up, Hiroku," Hiashi's voice boomed throughout the small room.

Hanabi stood up first, slowly trying to help lift him up. After a couple of minutes, Hiroku managed to lift himself up and lean against the wall.

"Take Hanabi out to the other side of the compound. She cannot see the ritual of a main branch death yet. Let her train a little if she wants to. Just watch out for her." Hiroku took a deep breath before wordlessly nodding. Hanabi reached out her hand and led him toward the door.

"Hiroku!" Hiashi spoke up. Hiroku turned around, his breathing haggard. "I won't lose my temper like that again if that is any consolation.

Hiroku gave him a exhausted look before walking out of the room under his own power with Hanabi behind him.

Hanabi gave her father a poignant look before she closed the door behind her. She turned to the side to see Hiroku gradually make his way around the corner. Hanabi swiftly caught up and once again stood beside him with unexpectedly gentle eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Hiroku's head jerked toward Hanabi. "What are you apologizing for?"

Hanabi looked down at the ground; her hair wholly covering her face. "I'm sorry for the pain my father caused."

"_Sorry_ doesn't make the hate go away." A cold shiver ran down Hanabi's spine at the word 'hate'.

"Am I to blame?" Hiroku looked down at Hanabi, but she refused to make eye contact with him.

"No." Hanabi's eyes shot up. "It's this stupid elitist hierarchy that disgusts me." He looked up for a moment. "I guess it could be said that you are indirectly to blame because of that." Hanabi looked down again.

"I see."

"That's just the way it is."

"Does this have to do with how you were treated by the other Hyuuga members?"

"Let's not bring that up." Hanabi could feel the malice in his voice.

"I'm sorry. It's just that Neji-san managed to forgive. I don't see why you can't do the same, Hiroku-san."

"Neji and I are in two entirely different situations."

"Are your situations really that different?"

Hiroku grit his teeth. "Yeah."

The rest of the short walk went wordlessly. Hanabi and Hiroku arrived on an isolated area of the compound. The area was pretty plain. The only noticeable feature was a small pond and a small board that was used to practice Jyuuken strikes. Hiroku sat down on the grass, watching Hanabi step onto the water and begin basic moves, his shuriken beside him.

Hanabi watched as each of her movements raised the water ever so slightly, as if her will was enough to control it. She could see the ceremonial flames from the distance. Her thoughts dwelled on Hiroku's body hitting the ground so easily. He defeated the girl who threatened her life without serious injury, but that single seal was enough to bring him to his knees. She thought back to the chuunin exams of a few years ago when her cousin Neji first entered the chunnin exams. She remembered how much animosity Neji held in his heart for the main branch. How pessimistic he was. How depressing his story was. The only reason she was there was because Neji was supposed to be a prodigy of the clan. While he delivered as far as strength was concerned, it was only after her father spoke to him alone that he saw a change in Neji for the better. He managed to forgive. He managed to smile.

Hanabi just couldn't see what made Hiroku so different from Neji. Unlike Neji, she knew next to nothing about Hiroku. She had only seen him once. That was during the chuunin exam at least four years ago. She was stunned when she found out that Hisa was Hiroku's younger sister. Hisa had told her that she was an only child. She had heard bits and pieces from around the other main branch members. What was consistent was the fact that Hiroku's curse seal is on his arm, making him a branch member, he is a jounin, and that he does not live on the compound. All this does not explain the hate. She struck at the air again. She looked over at Hiroku to see a woman that looked in her thirties loom over him. They were obviously talking. The woman had to have been present for a few minutes now. She stopped and walked over to the two.

"So, you're guarding her?" the woman spoke up.

"Yeah," Hiroku answered. Hiroku's eyes met Hanabi's, as he stood upright again. "Hanabi-chan, this is my mother, Hyuuga Hitomi. Hanabi got a closer look at her. Hitomi had long hair tied in a ponytail and was dressed in traditional Hyuuga robes wearing the Konoha headband traditionally.

"Hello," Hanabi greeted with a bow.

"The leader's daughter bowing to me? This is a shocker," Hitomi said. Hanabi turned a light red tint from embarrassment as she lifted her head up. She watched as she turned to her son. Hitomi gave a nod before turning toward the flames location leaving Hiroku and Hanabi alone watching her as she left.

Hanabi looked at Hiroku. There was a small smile on his face. Hanabi couldn't help, but see that this one was genuine.

"You love her?"

Hiroku jolted back to the girl. "Yeah."

"Hiroku-san?"

"Yes."

"Thank you for protecting me."

Hiroku shrugged before sitting down again and looking up. "Just doing my job."

Hanabi sat down beside him, mimicking his motion to look up at the sky.

"You like stargazing?" Hiroku asked.

"I have never done it before."

"Oh." It was quiet once again. "Hanabi-chan, you don't have to talk and act so formally all the time."

"A main branch member must always speak and act with the utmost courtesy at all times to reflect well on the clan." Hiroku instantly thought of her reciting a rule from the unwritten 'Hyuuga Book of Ethics' as if it was right in front of her.

"I guess I should start calling you Hanabi-sama instead of Hanabi-chan, huh?"

Hanabi said nothing.

"I guess that rule doesn't apply to us, _sub-Hyuuga_." Hanabi tensed up at the hostility in his words.

"Hiroku-san, you are not going to betray the clan are you?"

"No. I'm not a traitor. My loyalties lie with Konohagakure. I'm just like a star in the vast sky, taking orders when need be."

Hanabi looked up again. She could see what looked like embers from the nearby fire rise into the sky that seemed to dance with the stars. It truly was a beautiful sight to behold. She watched until she could feel sleep take over her. She felt Hiroku's hands on her shoulder, her body being pushed toward his. She let sleep overtake her with the fleeting thought of that kind gesture.

'_Is this a part of the mission too?"_

She didn't dwell on it long before it went dark.

* * *

A/N: Well, here is another chapter. It's shorter than the last. For all those wondering what happened with Hinata and Neji, don't worry. They'll get their time in the spotlight soon enough. Also, for those wondering, Hiroku's technique, **Eight Trigrams: Explosion** is explained in a bit of detail below. Let me know about any other jutsus you want more information about. If anyone has some ideas for other jutsu for the Hyuuga, I would appreciate it. There's only so many I can think of. Credit will be given of course. Again, thanks to the Naruto Anti-Writer's Block Party for their help. Check out the forum. It has jutsus, bloodlines, and creative games to help improve your story. There is a link to the forum in my profile. Check it out. You might find something useful there. Let me know your thoughts. Please review and let me know where to improve. Until next time.

**

* * *

**

Name: Eight Trigrams: Explosion (JP: Hakke: Bakuha)

**Type: No rank. Hiden; Offensive, Defensive, short to mid range (0-10m) **

**Users: Hiroku**

**Physical Appearance: Blue chakra surrounding the body. **

**Function: Blow the opponent backwards. **

**Mechanics: A variation of the Palm Rotation(Hakkesho Kaiten). It starts off the exact same way with chakra being exerted around the body. Instead of twirling like a top, the user simply exerts more chakra into needles hitting the foe and tossing them back while the needles appear to form a dome to protect the user. **

**Limitations/Weaknesses: It exerts a more chakra then Kaiten with less range.**


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